


Calescent

by mageswagger



Series: oîstros [2]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Choking, F/M, Knotting, Light Dom/sub, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multiple Orgasms, PWP, Praise Kink, Pseudoscience, Size Difference, Size Kink, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-03-22 07:20:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 30,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13759077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mageswagger/pseuds/mageswagger
Summary: As the blockers begin to fade from the systems of the immigrants from the Milky Way, strange effects begin to manifest in the human settlers. The Nexus recalls the Tempest, but too late - they’re docked on Aya until all repairs are finished, leaving Ryder to figure out what’s going on before it effects her, too.--Warm hands enveloped her arm, pulled her to her feet and steadied her, and a tense voice demanded: “Open your messages.”Ryder lifted her arm blindly, eyes flickering open and staring hazily out at the blue angara before her, his form obscure to her uprooted mind. But his eyes - Gods, his eyes were beautiful. She tensed again, pushing her thighs together and wiggling as her body leaned into his without care or hesitation. “Evfra, you’re so warm,” she sighed, and then felt foolish for opening her mouth. The flush worsened with her embarrassment. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 of my "I have a size kink and a problem called 'not enough andromeda porn'" writing binge. Only edited by me, so may have missed a few typos here and there - let me know if there's anything major. 
> 
> Don't need to read Part 1 to understand - it's just the same premise with Kandros instead of Evfra, so if these kinks float your boat then go check it out.
> 
> Part 3 is posted for those who want some sweet, sweet, Jaal lovin' (featuring more angara dick and romance, which im p sure is a kink?)

 “Alright, crew, we’ve got 48 hours here on Aya while the Tempest undergoes some repairs. Consider this shore leave. Try to enjoy yourself, don’t get white girl wasted, and try not to piss off the resistance too badly while we’re docked. Ryder, out.”

The feed cut out and Liam rolled his eyes from her left. “Pathfinder, you and I both know that of anyone on this ship, _you’re_ the one most likely to piss off Evfra.”

Ryder gave a crooked grin and a cavalier shrug that said she knew as much. “Can’t hurt to be safe, now, can it? You go enjoy yourself, I’m gonna check my messages one last time before drinking away my sorrows at the Tavetaan.”

“Don’t forget your own rules,” Liam said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. “No getting white girl wasted.”

“I solemnly swear to not get white girl wasted,” she promised, grinning wide and giving his arm a pat before disengaging and moving back towards her quarters where her messages and a fresh change of civvies waited for her. She changed first, desperate to get into a pair of far more comfortable leggings and a slightly oversized tank, where she could stretch her arms without the at times irritating tug of fabric along her skin. When she was little her mother had always joked that she was a wild child, and had plenty of pictures of a baby-Sara running around the house and (sometimes) out the door without a stitch of clothing on. Ryder couldn’t help it - too much fabric, and she felt claustrophobic, like the collar of her shirt was planning on choking her the first moment her guard dropped.

Of course, it was impossible - clothes weren’t sentient and definitely didn’t hold a grudge against Ryder - but feelings didn’t have to always make sense. And today, Ryder was feeling particularly antsy, like there was an itch she couldn’t scratch settling over her skin. She ran her nails along her bicep as she pulled up her messages, skimming through each and archiving the ones she preferred to keep for review later. She didn’t realize that her arm was red with irritation as she read the last message, her nails continuing to drag against her skin until the relief began to sting counterproductively. Ryder paused, glanced to her arm, and cursed under her breath, arm tingling in a vaguely-pleasant manner.

“Must’ve zoned out,” she murmured, pulling her hand away and actively keeping it by her side to stop from scratching at herself again.

“Ryder, you have an incoming vid-call from Director Addison,” SAM intoned, hub flickering to life on her left. “It is marked as urgent.”

“Motherfuck,” Ryder grumbled. “Alright, answer it, I’m headed right up.”

She pulled away from her console and, true to her word, headed straight up to the meeting room. The majority of the crew had already left, if the unusual quiet on the ship had anything to say about it, which left her alone with the perpetually-dissatisfied director breathing down her neck for something she was sure she had done, but didn’t care about defending. She keyed up the call and waited for an instant before the QEC flashed to life and projected an image of Addison. Ryder’s brow flickered downward for an instant. She looked exhausted.

“Ryder, we need the Tempest back on the Nexus immediately,” Addison said without hesitation. “How far out are you?”

“Immediately?” Ryder asked, brow furrowing openly this time. “Director, we can’t get there immediately - we’re docked on Aya for repairs, and these aren’t things we can just interrupt. We’ve got 48 hours here and then another 24 to reach the Nexus if we’re lucky.”

Addison cursed, turning away and catching her breath to handle her frustration, and concern began to eat away at Ryder’s gut like a bad cramp. “Director, what’s going on? Is the Nexus under attack?” she asked quickly, throat constricting painfully. “Is it Scott?”

“No, Ryder, nothing so drastic,” Addison said, tone even more brisk than usual. There were severe bags under her eyes. Had she been getting any sleep? Before she could continue assessing the Director’s state, the woman demanded, “I need you to quarantine yourself and Lieutenant Harper to your quarters effective immediately. Find the rest of your crew a hotel, a hostel, anything, just keep yourselves isolated.”

“Director, respectfully, _what the fuck is going on?”_ Ryder demanded, patience nearing the breaking point. “Im not just going to quarantine my crew without any explanation. You need to give me more information. Are we sick? Contagious? For how long?” How could they be either when they hadn’t been to the Nexus in a fortnight?

“I don’t know the specifics, only the effects,” Addison explained. “I’ll have the Nexus send over the data immediately so your medical officer can explain it to you. It’s something to do with the dissolution of our blockers, they’re having strange effects on the human women we have out of cryo. It’s not contagious, but we don’t want any mistakes, and we don’t need either of you starting a diplomatic nightmare with the angara if you…cross their paths.”

Ryder hated not knowing what was going on, and she hated even more that Addison wouldn’t just fucking tell her what was going on. “Fine. I’ll retrieve Cora and bring her back to the ship immediately. How long will the quarantine last?”

“Anywhere from one day to a week - you’ll know when it’s done. Be quick, Ryder,” Addison cautioned, and was it just Sara, or did she sound a little breathless? “I don’t know when this is going to hit you, but if our records are right, it’ll be sooner than anyone would like.”

The call disconnected and Ryder fought the urge to take a shuttle all the way to the nexus just to beat the hell out of Addison herself, and then paused to wonder why that was her first instinct at all. She sighed, ran her palm down her face and then through her hair, fluffing it slightly as she scratched her scalp. “SAM, can you get a message to Cora?”

“Negative, Pathfinder. The Tempest repairs have temporarily scrambled our message relays,” SAM informed her. “There is a storm effecting the area as well. It would likely be more effective to get Lieutenant Harper personally.”

“Roger,” Sara sighed, pinning her hair back from her face with her hands for a moment before letting her arms drop to her side. “Alright. I’m gonna head to the training grounds. When Lexi gets the message from medical, forward it to me immediately.” She may not be the best at medical mumbo-jumbo, but it would keep her prepared. Her stomach gave an uncomfortable flop, and she passed it off as stress.

The air of Aya was cool and damp, no doubt from the incoming storm, and a strange buzz had settled over her skin, causing goosebumps to trail up her uncommonly bare arms. She hadn’t even thought to switch into something a bit more professional, but now with the lingering gazes of angara as she passed them made her feel like maybe she should have taken the extra time. The back of her neck flushed with embarrassment, and as she continued walking and their gazes continued to leap up to find her with every step, that flush began to spread until her chest, throat, and cheeks were stained a soft pink. Something nervous squirmed under her skin, and her stomach continued to flip.

Ryder had never been averse to attention - but Gods, _every_ angara was watching her with a furrowed look to their brows and a curiosity in their eyes. Most of them had seen her before, she had been all over Aya’s main city. So why now? It had to have been the outfit. Did angara show skin? Jaal certainly never seemed averse to casual nudity (and her cheeks flushed deeper at the memory) but perhaps that was just a Jaal thing and not an angaran thing like she had assumed.

By the time she reached the resistance headquarters her knees felt a little wobbly, and her heartbeat was bumping powerfully under her breast, faster than she was used to. She inhaled sharply through her nose and forced herself onward, lifting her chin and trying to walk with the pride she normally commanded without effort. “Ryder, messages are back online,” SAM intoned, interrupting her quickly spiraling anxiety. 

“Great, I’ll message Cora,” she said, pulling up her omni-tool and quickly pinging Cora’s until there was a pause in the call and then a slightly breathless voice answered.

“This is Cora.”

“Cora, command from on high,” Ryder said, one hand rising to idly twist in the strap of her tank top. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and it made her stomach spin - but it wasn’t nausea. It almost felt pleasant. “Get back to the Tempest and hole up in my quarters. Addison’s direct command.”

“Is something wrong?” Cora asked, still breathless, and Ryder’s brow furrowed slightly. She had assumed Cora was training with the resistance, but why was she struggling to catch her breath so badly? 

“Don’t know - something with our blockers,” Ryder said. “It’s messing with our systems. Addison wants you and I quarantined to avoid starting a diplomatic incident, apparently. I’ve also been ordered to keep the rest of the crew off of the ship while we’re on it.”

“That sounds bad,” Cora said. There was a strange edge to her voice, breathlessness fading slightly but not quite gone. “I’ll head over immediately. Any more information I need to know?”

“As soon as I know, you’ll know,” Sara promised. “Lexi should be getting the medical information at any moment, but our comms are a bit fried right now.”

“Alright,” Cora agreed. “I’ll meet you at the tempest.”

The call ended, and Ryder hesitated instead of turning around immediately. How the hell was she going to get the rest of her crew somewhere to stay that wasn’t the Tempest? She supposed that she could talk to Paaran Shie, but her office was so far. The next best bet was Evfra, and though she was consistently uncertain whether or not the resistance leader liked her, she figured that if she asked nicely enough he may be able to help in her dealings with the governor and get this settled quickly so that she could get back to the Tempest as soon as possible.

Ryder continued into the headquarters, taking a familiar path back to Evfra’s office, and here the stares were even worse than they had been outside. Her skin was burning now, over-heated and uncomfortable, and without the cool breeze of the oncoming storm to quiet it the burn was almost unbearable. Was it a fever? Is this what Addison had warned her about? She had thought it was embarrassment but now she wasn’t certain. It felt too hot to be that. The pain in her stomach was still there, shifting and rolling uncomfortably, but it didn’t really hurt as much as it tingled, not dissimilar to a very mild cramp.

Quickly, then. She would talk to Evfra quickly. Irritated though she may be with Addison, the woman had asked her to be careful, and if this was the beginning of whatever was taking hold of some of the human colonists, then she would do her best to get in and out as quickly as possible.

When she entered Evfra’s office it was empty save for the resistance leader himself, who seemed occupied with some data of his own. His gaze lifted as she entered and bore into her, and she felt for a terrifying instant like her legs would freeze and he would pin her to the spot. A weight dropped low in her belly and she took a slow breath as she continued moving, barely hesitating in her stride despite herself.

“Pathfinder,” Evfra greeted, voice low enough to send a thrill down her spine that she normally didn’t associate with him. The weight in her stomach squirmed and she stepped up to her desk.

“I agreed early on to be entirely transparent with you, so that’s what I’m going to be now,” she said, feeling out of place. “I’ve received a call from Initiative leadership that there’s something effecting the humans on board - it isn’t contagious and seems to only effect a certain percentage of our colonists - but I’ve been ordered to try and remove my crew from the ship until the effects pass.”

“Effects?” Evfra asked, brow furrowing ever so slightly as his gaze burned into hers. The weight shifted, turned to a coil, and Ryder knew that feeling well. A mortified blush overtook her cheeks. Her libido never bothered her, and yet it chose now to decide it wanted something? When she was already doomed to face some sort of sickness?

“I’m not sure the extent of the effects - I’m waiting on the data, and the oncoming storm is scrambling our systems,” she explained. “But I have crew members that need places to stay for the next - well. Possibly three days. I would have gone to Paraan Shie, but - well.” The burn intensified. “Her office was further, and I was already here.”

Evfra’s gaze hadn’t left her for the whole of her explanation, and a strange expression was beginning to settle over his features - subtle, but just visible enough for Ryder to pick up on it. He inhaled slowly, nostrils flaring, and his eyes narrowed. Just when she thought he was going to deny her, he pulled up his messages. “I can get your crew space in our barracks. We have a team out for a week patrolling the area, so we have the space. Jaal has an apartment on Aya that I’m sure he will share. That is the most I can do.”

Relief swelled in her chest and left her in a soft exhale as her body began to unwind slightly. The tension left her muscles and though she knew it was probably rude, she found herself leaning onto Evfra’s desk. Her legs were weak, and she needed a moment to collect herself. The burning in her cheeks and throat intensified, and as she swallowed it was like the heat travelled with it, sinking down, down, down deep into her belly and settling there with that familiar coil. “Thank you. I’ll get out of your hair.” She paused. “Er. Cowl? It’s a-”

“I understand what it means,” Evfra said shortly. “Jaal includes any of your strange idioms in his reports.”

“Oh,” Ryder said. Her thighs tensed, pressed together, and the mortification was returning as she felt a rush of liquid heat begin to pool at her entrance. _Oh gods - what is wrong with me?_ “I - I think I need to go now.”

Moving was a mistake. She straightened, stepped back from his desk, and her knees nearly gave out entirely. Her hand lashed out, clawed at the desks edge as she stumbled and barely avoided hitting the floor. The slow build of heat that had been mounting with every step away from the tempest was finally too much - it doubled in an instant, slamming into her and becoming the only thing she could think of. Her lips parted and eyes closed as she gasped, drawing cool air into her burning lungs to try and settle the ache that was beginning to throb between her thighs.

_Oh my god, what’s happening?_

Warm hands enveloped her arm, pulled her to her feet and steadied her, and a tense voice demanded: “Open your messages.”

Ryder lifted her arm blindly, eyes flickering open and staring hazily out at the blue angara before her, his form obscure to her uprooted mind. But his eyes - Gods, his eyes were beautiful. She tensed again, pushing her thighs together and wiggling as her body leaned into his without care or hesitation. “Evfra, you’re so warm,” she sighed, and then felt foolish for opening her mouth. The flush worsened with her embarrassment. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

Evfra ignored her. “Ryder, I need you to open your messages,” he said, fingers tight around her wrist where the omni-tool flickered uselessly. “I don’t have authorization.”

“SAM, give Evfra authorization to access my inbox,” Sara sighed, head lolling onto his shoulder. Evfra didn’t blink at her. He wrapped one arm under hers, letting her use his body for support her own seemed unable to provide, and used the other to quickly navigated the foreign interface. He didn’t even seem to struggle with it for an instant, easily deciphering the alien system. He began typing out a message, and Ryder wanted to watch - wanted to see what it said - but he was too warm, to firm under her, and she could only nuzzle against him like an over-affectionate cat, cheek rubbing against his shoulder as she sighed in contentment. 

“I’ve messaged your crew,” he said, “and Jaal has agreed to allow them to use his apartment while necessary. Cora messaged you to let you know that she’s made it back to the ship, and that your medical officer is examining her.”

Ryder listened diligently, even if it took extreme effort to get her mind to make sense of his words. She nodded against him, pressed her face to his throat and inhaled the subtle and calming scent of his skin, and her tongue darted out to trace along one delicate vein. His grip around her middle tightened. “Did Lexi message?” she breathed, voice low and soft and so unlike herself.

“She forwarded you documents from the Nexus medical team one minute ago,” Evfra reported. His voice was a low rasp, and it was like a tether connected it to her stomach. The knot twisted, lowered, and a shiver went down her spine as she gave a little mewl and kissed at his skin before boldly dragging her teeth along his throat. His hand lifted, twisted in the hair that was usually kept back from her face, and pulled her from his throat. The sharp tug had a keen burning its way through her throat.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” she groaned, struggling to remember why she shouldn’t be doing this, why she shouldn’t be winding her free arm around Evfra and rubbing herself against him like an attention-starved pet. 

“The dissolution of your blockers has resulted in an increase in your body’s estrogen production,” Evfra answered, reading from her omni-tool and keeping his grip firm in her hair to avoid another incident. “Your body is entering a stage of increased fertility.”

“What?” Ryder blinked, struggling to think. She opened her eyes and stared up at him, expression veiled and lost even as she began to make sense of his words. “Fertility?”

“Whatever you were on that kept you from procreating immediately has flushed from your system, and now you’re entering a heat cycle,” Evfra said more plainly, closing out the message and dropping her arm. Her hand moved to curl in his rofjiin and haul herself closer to him, but his grip in her hair didn’t diminish in the slightest. The sharp pull it resulted in only made her moan and clench her thighs together tighter.

“Humans don’t go into heat,” she gasped. “Not like this. Gods, I’m sorry.” Tears burned at the corner of her eyes, mind aware enough to feel utterly humiliated with the way her instincts were taking over. “I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have come if I’d known.”

There was something like sympathy in his features, but his eyes were still wonderfully dark, a focused, stormy grey that made her womb throb. She wanted to kiss him. She _needed_ to kiss him. She bit her lower lip hard, whimpered pitifully as her thighs tensed and relaxed, her hips rocking slightly to try and smother the fire burning between them. Her body was throbbing, clutching demandingly for something that simply wasn’t available, and she gave a little sob.

“Evfra, please,” she gasped before her mind could stop her. She arched against him, presenting herself to his gaze should he want to look, and her hand disengaged from his clothing to instead begin pulling at her own. She tugged the neck of her tanktop down, fingers dragging the edge of her sports bra with it to hook it under the heated flesh of her breast, which was beginning to feel swollen and uncomfortable. Her palm pressed to the sensitive skin, kneaded herself as her mouth dropped open into a soft ‘oh’ and her thoughts vanished entirely.

“You need to get back to your ship,” Evfra said, hand lifting and covering hers to force her to stop. His attention was on her face, his expression tense and focused. “I will carry you-“

“No!” the protest was sharp and panicked, so much so that it surprised even herself. She lunged forward, his hand ripping from her hair, and curled her arms around him like a lifeline. “No, no, please, I can’t let anyone see me like this, please Evfra - just let me stay, let me hide, I promise I’ll be good.”

There was a long moment between them as Evfra stood, tense as he steadied her and watched her emotions gradually begin to unravel before him. She was a mess, breath coming in quick pants, shifting to try and sate herself, arching up and into his palm to try and feel the sweet drag of his palm over her nipple.

His hand pulled away and she sobbed, tears burning at her eyes as desolation overtook her. He couldn’t leave her to deal with this - he wouldn’t, he shouldn’t, not when she needed it so _badly_ …

Evfra didn’t pull away entirely like she thought he would. His fingers found the top of her sports bra and pulled it back up, covering her breasts again, and then fixed her tank top as best he could given her action had stretched it out of shape. “We will take the back exit,” he said, voice gruff and perfunctory. “You will keep your hands to yourself, you will not speak, and you will try to act reasonable while we walk. We may see people. When you do, you will smile, you will nod, and you will keep moving. Any angara with a functioning nose can smell your heat. If you don’t want them to notice then you will move quickly - the storm will hide the worst of your scent.”

The way he commanded her made her ache all the worse, but there was an instinctive part of her that straightened, blinked rapidly to try and clear the fuzz from her brain. She wanted to be good for him - she wanted to do what he told her. Maybe if she did, then he would reward her.

“I promise,” she breathed. “I’ll be good. I’ll be so good for you, Evfra, I swear.”

“Good,” he praised, and her heart sang as her thighs quivered. “Now stand straight.”

She did - she tried - and it wasn’t perfect, but the trembling of her limbs was subdued as best she could. He put a supportive hand on her lower back, sent one brief message from his desk, and then guided her to the back of the room, to a door that she had never noticed or thought to explore before. It opened up into a long hallway, narrow and dropping steadily downward. The hall was thin enough that it forced them close, her side nestled into his as he guided her down step by step, and though her body demanded she grab and touch every available part of him, his order echoed in her mind and she used whatever remained of her will to clench her fists and keep them at her side.

Two minutes passed, and then there was another door. This one led outside, to a part of Aya she had never seen. The pathway was overgrown, plants well tended but clearly allowed to obscure the white trail however it pleased, as if it were guarding some treasured secret. The path wound and eventually widened out into a road, and her breath caught at the view. Houses - hundreds of them, so similar in design to the buildings that decorated Aya’s crest - laid out before her, spanning back into the distance and hiding the horizon from view. This must be the residential district. 

_Evfra was taking me to his house._

Her womb clenched eagerly, heartbeat thundering, but the cool breeze that was beginning to turn to a brisk wind helped to clear her mind, to quiet the raging fire in her skin. A few angara were out in their yards, walking down other pathways, winding to Aya’s main streets, and a small glance behind told her that the overgrown plant life hid any sign of the path the duo had taken from view.

“We are almost there,” Evfra intoned. Her excitement peaked again, heat pooling anew at the apex of her thighs, and each step was getting more and more uncomfortable as her underwear stuck uncomfortably to the soft skin it protected. _Just a little further._

He took her down a narrow path between homes, and this one was nearly abandoned entirely. He moved faster now, held her tighter, and within moments they were at a door that she almost didn’t notice, the seams were so thin, so obscure. He pressed his palm to the seam, and a small push had the door sliding open to allow the two access. Evfra pulled her in to a darkened room, and as the lights flickered on she realized it was a living room. It was sparse, militaristic and spartan, and looked barely lived in, but it was colorful like much of Aya was. Evfra released his grip on her, but Ryder did not pull away from him. She wound her arm around his to keep him close, pressed herself to his side and immediately began nuzzling at his throat all over again. She was safe, she was out of view, and the pressure evaporated from her shoulders and left her only with that burning want that had haunted her every step.

“Ryder, you need to lay down,” Evfra said, voice firm and commanding. Sara ran her palm over his chest, down lower and lower until his free hand jumped up to stop her from exploring past his waist. “ _Ryder.”_

“I was good, wasn’t I?” she breathed, teeth dragging down his throat again to then bite at his pulse. She noticed the way his body buzzed, bioelectricity brushing against her at every point they touched.

“Yes, Ryder, you did well,” he said, and his voice was stiff. “And now you need to lay down until this wears off. Your crew knows where you are, and you need to let this leave your system.”

“But you can help,” she said, face tilting up so she could admire the gorgeous shade of his skin, the had lines of his face as he glared at her. “You can make it stop - I now you can, I just need you inside of me.”

They moved then, Evfra picking up her body and tossing her over his shoulder before hauling her off to another doorway. The show of strength made her groan, hips wiggling as her freed hands began exploring whatever part of him that she could reach, swooping down his body to cup and knead at his ass while she panted and the need between her thighs began to grow to an angry ache. Evfra ignored her, ignored her until a door opened and he dropped her inelegantly onto a mattress.

“Stay here,” he ordered, and that part of her that wanted so desperately to obey him froze her muscles, her hand already half way down her body and frozen at the edge of her pants.Her eyes were wide, like a startled animal, and Evfra’s eyes glared at her in a way that fucking _dared_ her to disobey him.

She didn’t want to disobey him.

Her fingers curled up, nails biting into her palm, and she moved her hand to her side. She nodded weakly, breathless and overwhelmed. Evfra’s posture relaxed slightly, and then he turned and left the room. She heard the door lock behind him, and she gave a weak whimper.

All she could do now was wait.

The first hour passed and her body burned as if the bed were made of fire, licking at her skin and leaving her raw. Her breath came in shallow little pants, body thrumming with energy she had no way to release. Her fingers curled in the sheets instead of curling in herself, trying desperately to behave, to keep herself in check. Time crawled onward and she lost track of it, couldn’t even begin to grasp what it meant if she knew it, and she kept her fingers tightly curled until the sheets began to tear under the strain. Her hips lurched up, insides clenching to offer her some relief, and sweat dotted along her skin as the heat began to consume her entirely.

“SAM, can you help?” she gasped, sanity reaching for any reprieve she could manage.

“I could try to regulate your estrogen production, but that may result in increasing the duration of the effects,” SAM reported.

The idea of living with this any longer than she had to immediately had her crying out, shaking her head and begging, “No, no, please don’t. Please, SAM, don’t do that.”

“There is nothing else I can do, Sara,” SAM apologized, and the familiarity of her first name was a small relief. 

“Initiate privacy mode,” she shuddered, clenching her eyes tight and holding back a whine. “I can’t - I don’t want - SAM, please.”

There was a long pause, longer than usual for SAM, and then: “Acknowledged. Initiating privacy mode.”

The quiet was awful, but it was better than having SAM see her like this. She didn’t want to share this with him, didn’t want him to suffer with her. She pushed off her pants, kicked them aside to try and relieve the heat that licked torturously at her limbs, spread her thighs to allow the air conditioning to try and cool the fevered flesh, but that only worked for so long - the heat was persistent and angry, a low throb that refused to abate and made it harder and harder to keep from touching herself.

Eventually she broke, the isolation the final push she needed before agony twisted and squeezed at her heart. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and fell as a heavy sob ripped from her lips. “It hurts,” she whined, breath coming quicker, near panicky as her muscles strained. Her chest heaved as she began crying, and yet even that wasn’t enough to dampen the painful ache that left her feeling tender and abused without even so much as a brush of her fingers. Her sobs drowned out any other sound, ruined her perception entirely, and so when the door slid open and her captor/savior stepped in she barely registered it.

A heavy sigh broke the silence, and Ryder stilled. She forced her eyes open, stared out at the leader of the resistance as he watched her with a stormy expression, a trey of food in one hand and a large bottle of water in the other. Her thighs quivered and her insides clenched. “Evfra,” she whined, and then hiccuped as her emotions clogged her throat. “Evfra, please, I can’t-“

He set the bottle of water and the food on a table she hadn’t noticed, a table under a window that told her it was dark out. He approached the side of the bed and wrapped her wrist in one of his hands, his fingers overlapping easily. _He’s so much bigger than me._

“I’m going to help you,” he said. Her eyes brightened, breath caught.

“Thank you, thank you,” she praised, head falling back heavily against the pillow as she dragged in a ragged breath.

“What happens here does not leave this room,” Evfra continued. His grip was so tight. _He’s so strong._ “No one - not the Resistance, not the Initiative, not your crew - knows that I helped you.”

“I promise,” she whispered, not questioning his demand in the slightest even if a small part of her withered in the back of her mind. “Just us, Evfra. Only us.”

Another long sigh left him, and he released her wrist to catch the edge of her underwear and tug them down her thighs in a brisk gesture. The rush of cool air directly against her heated core had her gasping, hips rocking up to try and steal a glancing brush against his hand, but she didn’t have to wait long. He lifted his hand, pulled his gloves free, and in a beautiful, heart-stopping moment his hand slid between her thighs to slide one thick digit - easily as wide as two of hers - through her slick. The noise that left her was obscene, her body arching and shuddering as she closed her eyes and trembled under him.

His hand was warm, warmer than she thought it would be, and it felt so perfect against her that she very well would have sold her soul if that meant she could have his hands on her forever. He parted her, slid his fingertip up and to her clit to circle it with a tight little rhythm that soothed and enflamed her all at once.

It was nice - it felt good, it poured water on the flames that had been tormenting her all day - but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t inside of her, and it wasn’t his cock.

“Evfra, more,” she whispered, hips jolting as a shudder ran through him. “Please - I need more.”

“Shh,” he hushed her, and though he seemed unaffected she noticed the way his breath lurched ever so slightly, the hunger in his gaze as he watched his finger slide against the flushed and pink skin of her cunt. “I said I would take care of you.”

And as he said it he sank one thick finger into her, and it unmade her. Ryder had never been so sensitive, so quick to finish, but after hours of desperate waiting and feverish arousal, all it took was the sweet stretch of her body around his finger to make her body sing. His name poured from her lips like a prayer, body arching and toes curling as a wild little laugh bubbled in her throat. He kept his finger in her as she came, squeezing around him, and when her heartbeat began to steady and her breath evened he began to slowly pump the digit into her.

“Your so thick,” she gasped, writhing as her hips rocked against his hand. “Gods, Evfra - you feel so good.”

“It isn’t enough,” he said - a simple observation. She bit her lip, lashes fluttering almost bashfully.

“No,” she admitted. “I need more - I need all of you.” Her breath caught at the very idea, body clenching around him and making his eyes darken. “Please, Evfra.”

“Be patient,” he ordered. His finger curled and she sobbed again, biting down on her lip as she gave a small nod. She wanted to be good for him - wanted to hear it first hand that she was good enough, that she was doing what he asked. If she did what he asked then he would give her what she needed.

His finger was relentless as he pumped into her, curling and stretching her to properly prepare her for what was inevitably going to happen. Ryder had never been with an angara before, hadn’t considered whether they were compatible or not, or any of that, but a heady look over his form told her that they were compatible enough. He was not quite as thickly built as Jaal was - thiner, more lithe - but he was still larger than any human man she had been with, any alien man for that matter. His palm easily covered her mound, and to allow even his palm to fit she had to spread her legs to the point that her hips ached ever so slightly (not that she minded in the least). Proportionally she couldn’t help but wonder, even now, how big was he? More importantly, did she care?

Her hips jolted up, palm jostling her clit as she shuddered and neared the next crest of her orgasm only for his finger to withdraw and pull a high keen from her. “No, no, don’t leave,” she gasped, hips jerking up as if to follow him.

“I’m not leaving,” he soothed, pulling off his scarf and the top layer of his clothes to set them aside. She watched him like a hawk, hungry eyes followng his hands, noting the finger that still glistened from where it had fucked into her. His hand returned quickly, but it wasn’t with one finger. She felt something wider press at her entrance, and her muscles fluttered in panic as she realized it was his fused fingers slowly stretching into her.

A small cry left her lips, the sound strained and aching as her body protested the stretch ever so slightly. Gods, his fingers were thick. Evfra was diligent, careful, and as her body began to flutter encouragingly around him, began trying to suck his fingers deeper into her heat, he pushed in properly, past the second joint and until his knuckles were pressed flush to her labia.

“Oh fuck,” she gasped. “Fuck, so big, so good, so right - gods, Evfra, you feel so perfect.”

He didn’t shush her this time. His fingers withdrew and then slid back into place, slow and steady, letting her body adapt to the uncommon stretch until there was almost no resistance, until her pussy just accepted his fingers as if they were meant to be there. Ryder was a wreck underneath him, humming and moaning and pleading until his pace began to speed again, until his fingers began to crook demandingly and his thumb notched against her clit so each dragging touch came with an added burst of sensation. 

Sara didn’t realize it, lost as she was, but his fingers were fucking into her almost violently, hard and demanding, and she fucking adored it more than she had any right to. She sobbed, twisted under hip, rocked against him and demanded more again and again until that edge hit and she was careening over it with a beautiful sob of his name.

And as she came she felt the stretch deepen, felt that single digit carefully nudge into her drenched cunt, and then felt him spread her open on all four digits.

It hurt. The burn was there, impossible to ignore even as his thumb continued thrumming her clit to life. The pain had her sobbing out, and despite it - despite her every instinct, ever shred of logic that screamed that it was too much - her body _craved_ it.

“Please, please, please,” she begged heart a useless flutter in her chest. “Evfra, please. Please fuck me. I need it.”

Her hands came to life, dragging against her own skin, tugging the neck of her tanktop down and nearly ripping the thin fabric as she did, her sports bra coming with it to bare her breasts to her own violent touch. Her nails dug into her skin, twisted and pulled swollen nipples to pained points as she sobbed out her relief. 

Then he swatted her hands away with his and she wanted to cry, until he lowered himself, closed the distance that he had kept diligently between them to drag a thick and textured tongue over the puffy pink of her nipples. His other hand moved as she arched into his mouth to twist in the loose strands of her hair, wrapping it around his fingers and pulling hard. The sob that left her was primal, and though tears began to fall all over again it was for a far different reason.

Heat covered every inch of her body, his fingers were too much and not enough all at once, and as his digits fucked and stretched her open in what she could only assume was preparation his tongue distracted her from any discomfort that would have otherwise been to great for her body to handle. Words were meaningless to her now, and so she shared them with the world, panting and singing praises for him that she would never be able to recall even if she tried. She came several times before his fingers finally withdrew, and when they did she was overcome by the rush of cool air against her gaping entrance. She shuddered, arched up against him, and sighed when his lips finally abandoned her breasts (which were bruised and swollen from the demanding bite of his teeth and lips) to kiss her properly.

Drunk as she was on her bodies demands, a very real part of Sara swooned as his lips slid so perfectly against hers - soft, gentle, full and warm. She yielded to his kiss, parted her lips so his tongue to slide between them and taste the inside of her mouth. Her tongue met and twisted with his, teasing brushes and more determined licks as she tried to drown herself in the spicy taste of him.

His hands didn’t touch her, left her body to stew and ache underneath him. It was not as painful as it had been when she waited for him, but the desire still burned and twisted like a fist was squeezing her insides. There was more Sara here now than there was before, and though she knew shame and embarrassment would haunt her later, now it did not. Now, she was open to him - willing and eager to give him everything.

The kiss ended and her eyes took the extra effort to open so she could see him, and when they finally managed she was greeted by the gorgeous sight of his bare body, the final layers removed and tossed aside. His hands caught her hips and pulled her to the edge of the bed, spread her thighs wide open for him to fit between them, and it was then she saw what awaited her.

Visually, it was extremely recognizable as a cock. A beautiful blue dick, curved slightly and straining between them, a subtle twitch shifting under the thin skin as Evra’s gaze roved possessively over her debauched form. Beyond that though it was unlike anything she had seen. The tip was thick and bulbous, glistening from its own lubrication, and there was a small ridge that gave way to the length of him. A length that very well may have matched that of her forearm, and ended in a thick knot of deep blue skin that was terrifyingly large.

Her body clenched, uncertain how she would fit him. He was too big - there was no way around it. At his thinnest she doubted she would be able to meet her fingers around him, and at his thickest-

A surge of panic lurched in her stomach, and even that only fanned the flames of her outrageous need. Her cunt clenched hungrily, demanding the one thing her mind was hesitant to give it. So that was why he had taken so much time stretching her like he did. There was no way that had been enough - no way he would fit.

But gods - imagine how it would feel if it _did_ fit. 

That damning thought had her nodding and licking her lips, her hips lifting invitingly. “Do it,” she breathed. “Fuck me.”

“It may hurt,” he cautioned, gaze intent. “You are…smaller…than we are made for.”

Her hips wiggled again, his gaze darted down to the glistening display she offered. “Please, Evfra,” she whined. The desperation was beginning to lick at her again, beginning to erase out the temporary return of sanity. “I want you to fuck me. You’ll feel so good, stretch me so perfectly - so much. I’ll be so tight for you, so wet, all for you.” There was a shudder as she inhaled, her lips trembling as emotions started to spiral. “I’ve never been so wet for someone before. I’ve never needed like this. Please, Evfra, honey - _please_.”

She hiccuped, losing her grip on herself, and one of those large hands lifted to cup her cheek before sliding back into her hair and twisting there. “Hold still,” he commanded.

And then she felt it. The head of his cock, nestled against her labia, slowly sliding up and down the length of her slit and collecting the moisture there to help coat his dick in her fluids, to help ease his path. The shudder that rolled through her was almost violent and her hips lifted. The moment they day he pulled away.

“I said stay still,” he commanded again, voice harsher, a low bark that paused her in her tracks. “If you wont listen, then this wont happen.”

Terror gripped her. “I’ll be good,” she swore, muscles locking into place as she twisted her hands in the sheets - already torn and ruined, when had she done that? - and stilled herself obediently. “I’ll be good, I promise.”

His expression softened, and his gaze leisurely travelled over her before going down and down back to where his cock waited to fill her. He pushed close again, trailing the tip along her slid, down and up to flick against her swollen and delicate clit. Her breath caught, but she tensed her hips to keep from jolting, even as her inner walls squeezed down to try and coax him into her. It was torture waiting, not knowing when he would fill her or how, and each moment that passed had her gasping for air and digging her nails into her ravaged palms.

Suddenly he pressed forward. The thick head of his cock pushed at her abused opening, and the whine that she gave was nothing short of tortured. Gods, he was so thick - so full - he was going to tear her apart.

The hand in her hair drifted down to cradle the back of her neck, thumb wedged against her pulse, and a low thrum of energy radiated from his palm and down through her torso. The panic that had overtaken her eased, replaced by a strange calm, and her muscles relaxed enough to allow the head of his cock to slip into her cunt.

She had never been so stretched before, and that was only the tip. Her body squeezed around him, desperate to milk him, to have him fill her properly, and she watched through half-lidded eyes as pleasure danced across his usually stoic features.

“ _Skkut_ ,” he cursed, lips pursing as he breathed in deep. His grip on her shifted, tightened at her thigh and her throat, and he steadied himself. “You are - stars, Ryder, you are so _hot_.”

“Is it good?” she asked, barely audible under the stress of her body’s demands. “Am I good?”

“You are _perfect_ ,” he purred, gaze heavy lidded and warm and gods but he thought that she was _perfect_.

“I told you I would be so good for you,” she crooned, body trembling under his. “I told you - I promised you I would be. Please. Evfra. _Please_.”

Evfra began moving. His hips slid forward, pushed deeper, and torturous inch after inch began to fill her. She was panting, quick and heavy as he spread her apart, and her toes curled even as a very instinctive part of her screamed that he would kill her if he fucked her too roughly.

The stretch continued, and she came before even half of him had rooted itself inside of her, body squeezing around him as she gave soft little sobs of pleasure that sent tears rolling down flushed cheeks.

He withdrew slightly, and then pushed back in, slowly fucking half of his cock into her, and in sincerity Ryder would have been happy with that alone for the way he filled her. She gave soft cried and mewls, arching up ever so slightly but never moving her hips for fear of making him stop, his earlier warning still burning in her mind. She wanted to be perfect for him - she wanted to stay perfect.

The palm on her thigh tightened it’s grip, bruising her skin, and his next thrust had him sinking deeper into her and had her crying out. One hand flew down to rest on her abdomen,low enough that the edge of her finger brushed the surprisingly tough skin of his cock, and she imagined that she could feel him moving within her - that she could feel his cock pressing up to the thin skin of her stomach as if her cunt could barely hold him.

Another thrust, another inch, and her mind was boiling over as she cried underneath him, the only thing differentiating her pleasure from her pain being the way she twisted her free hand around the wrist nearest her face to hold him closer. Her face turned, kissed his thumb, the edge of his hand, whatever she could reach, and in return his hand shifted to press to the span of her throat, covering her from jaw to collar bone, and her head tipped back obediently to let him squeeze.

Airways tightened, not quite blocked, but restricted enough so that every struggling breath brought a rush to her head that made the burning desire of her womb impossibly bright. His thumb slid over her lower lip, his gaze hungry as her mouth moved to delicately suck at the leathery pad of his thumb.

It was with his hand on her throat that he gave a heavy cant forward and buried the remaining length of his cock in her. The scream he ripped from her nearly tore her throat, stole her voice from her as she panted and sobbed around the heavy weight of his hand until he stole it away and that first, glorious, unfettered breath sent a wave of pleasure through her so intense that she nearly blacked out. 

Time turned fuzzy, sensation overruling common thought as she came on his cock once, and then twice, and then three times while he ravaged her. She could feel the swell of his knot brushing against her labia, teasing the edges of her entrance, and she knew she couldn’t take it - knew that it would truly ruin her if she tried.

When she spoke her voice was hoarse - her vocal chords fucked over from her cry - and she rasped: “I need you to come in me, Evfra, please. I want to feel it.”

“Soon,” he promised, voice tense as his hand brushed over her breasts, fingers teasing and tugging at her nipples and making her shiver. She felt raw, abused, overly-sensitive, and all she wanted was that final nudge - that final thing that she knew, deep in her gut, would satisfy the heat that had run her ragged.

Evfra was careful not to fuck her too hard, his thrusts measured and carefully controlled to keep from hurting her - and it would be so easy for him to hurt her like this, and an awful part of her relished in the idea that he even could. Her pussy fluttered delicately around him, making it difficult for him to withdraw at all, and his breath begin to hitch as his fingers caught her breast and squeezed, gaze wandering openly over her small frame as a low growl began in the back of his throat and electricity began to dance along her skin.

When he came it was with a low groan, the loudest sound he had offered her, and her body greedily tightened around him as she gave a muted, broken little cry and rode out a near painful and exhausted orgasm that threatened to ruin her. In truth, he already had ruined her - how could she ask for anyone else when she knew how he felt? Even now, feeling the hot rush of his seed as it coated her womb and dripped in heavy globs down her quaking thighs, she knew she would have to have him again - she knew that she could never go the rest of her existence without feeling Evfra take her.

Time was a blur, and she didn’t know how long he rested against her, cock buried as far as she could take it and keeping her stuffed full, but when he with drew it was with a wet pop that made a full-body shudder wrack through her.

She _ached._

“Don’t leave,” she croaked, voice still hoarse, body still trembling. She didn’t think she could move, but she lifted a hand to wrap exhausted fingers around his wrist and try to tether him to her. “Please, Evfra - stay with me, just tonight. I’m so sore.”

His hand moved, cupped her cheek and tilted her face back so he could dip and run his lips along her jaw. There was empathy in the way he nosed at her ear, a gentleness in the fluttering kiss that graced her jaw.

“I’ll take care of you,” he swore solemnly, voice deceptively unaffected. “I promise.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I...wanted more. So. You get more too!
> 
> Total chapters will hit around 4 or 5, and the story is almost completely done. Happy Ending guaranteed.

**Chapter Two**

It was the emptiness that woke her.

Ryder’s rest had been dreamless and deep, like a heavy weight that refused to let awareness eek into even the smallest corners of her mind. The deep dark of unconsciousness had been a welcome balm to the fire that had tormented her all day, and here she could sleep without fear of that returning desire. But the nothingness didn’t last. The emptiness invaded her dreams, and she became aware of her body clenching desperately, searching for something to fill her like Evfra had done so perfectly the night before despite the fact that her body was still tender for it.Her body began to squirm on its own, running on an instinctive overdrive, and that pulsing need began to pound in the back of her mind until sleep faded entirely and she woke gasping.

Evfra had fallen asleep beside her, as he had promised, but when she blindly reached to find the side of the bed he had inhabited it was cold. He had been gone for a while now. The lack of contact forced her to open her eyes, and she took in the rumpled sheets and the nightstand, where a tall glass of water waited with a tray of the paste that angara called food.

“SAM?” she asked the empty air, voice more of a gasp than she wanted, vocal chords still busted from her scream the night before. “SAM, is Evfra in the house?”

“I am uncertain,” he answered. “Would you like me to message him for you?”

Sara bit her lower lip as she squirmed. “No. Not yet,” she said, despite her body’s protest. She sat up, limbs trembling slightly as she reached for the water and greedily gulped it down. A part of her had hoped the chill would help the fire that bubbled in her loins calm, but it only sent goosebumps erupting across her arms. Her fingers shook unsteadily and nearly dropped the glass before she could set it down, and she was extra careful when she reached for the waiting paste. It was tasteless, but it felt nice on her stomach. When was the last time she had eaten?

“SAM, how long was I asleep?” she asked, voice low rasp.

“You’ve been asleep for 16 hours,” he said. 

Holy shit.

“When did Evfra leave?” she immediately followed before wincing, feeling horribly needy for wanting to know at all.

“Evfra left approximately 9 hours ago,” he informed.

So he had slept with her after all. A small burst of warmth circled her heart and squeezed, and she felt completely foolish. That shouldn’t endear him to her, and yet it did. 

These hormones were going to drive her insane.

Unlike yesterday, the heat was ignorable if she kept her thoughts distracted, and so she went through her messages to keep her fingers from delving between her thighs, and when her messages were organized and answered and her crew was alerted to her safety first-hand, she rose to move around the room and explore what she hadn’t been able to yesterday. Each step was a bit like torture, but if she ignored it then she could pretend that things were normal.

There was very little in the room, the decor sparse and the furniture perfunctory. There was a table, a nightstand, a bed, a chest of drawers, and a door that she discovered led to a connecting bathroom. The very sight of a shower sent a surge of relief and she didn’t even hesitate before stripping off the warped remains of her tank top and tossing that and her bra to the side in a sloppy heap. It took her a minute to figure out how the controls worked, but after a few curious prods there was a click, the rush of water through pipes, and then water was spraying from a line of jets along the wall, which was a little startling when she had expected it to come from above.

Ryder barely had the presence of mind to double check for soap, finding it neatly organized on a shelf within the shower’s confines, before she stepped into the spray and let a low, bodied moan fill space around her. The heat was amazing, the pressure of the spray powerful enough to knead into her tense and weary muscles, and within moments she was stupidly relaxed. Her arms hung heavy at her side, and though she knew she needed to begin cleaning herself, every time she tried to rouse the energy to start her body gave a weak groan of protest and she went limp.

The spray was starting to chill slightly when she finally had the presence of mind to move, turning the temperature up a notch to try and supplant the change, and reaching to pour a liberal amount of the shower gel into her palm. The consistency was thicker than she was used to, almost like a sugar scrub instead of a solid gel, and she rubbed it into her skin with a heavenly little sigh as the coarse texture left her skin feeling extra smooth and extra clean. She had noticed that the angara’s skin was a bit thicker than humans and the asari but softer than unplated turian leather - perhaps that had something to do with it.

_Or maybe Evfra is more vain than he looks._

A small smile cracked at the corner of her mouth at the idea. Evfra was single-minded in whatever he did - she doubted that skincare was high on his list of priorities when there was a war on every front.

When she finally emerged from the shower she felt infinitely better, the cleanliness doing more than enough to help her feel somewhat normal again. The ache was still there, a mix of need and tenderness from the night before, but at least she felt clean. Human. 

Only now, she smelled like Evfra.

Ryder hadn’t considered that when she used his body wash, only thinking of properly scrubbing the residual sweat and semen and arousal that had set into her skin overnight. She stripped the torn sheets from the bed and boldly left the room to look for a laundry room, and when she found something similar (with help from her scanner) she tossed them and her single set of clothes in and set them to ‘sanitize.’ Then she began looking for new sheets, quietly peeking in doors and closing them when she found everything but a linen closet. The search was useless, as she didn’t want to invade too much of Evfra’s personal space, and so she relegated herself back into her temporary quarters. By then the scent was almost taunting her, and she felt foolish when she lifted her wrist to her nose and gave a small sniff, rewarded by a subtle flush enveloping her skin as her mind swam deliriously with desire and affection.

She knew better than to trust the way her heart constricted in her chest. Intimacy bred affection - letting Evfra fuck her like he had was doomed from the start to trick her body into thinking there was something emotional there aside from the physical. But gods, if it was hard to believe that logic.

“SAM, how long until this ends?” she demanded, steady enough to continue ignoring the subtle slick that teased the tops of her thighs. Her mind was hers still, even if her body wasn’t.

“I do not know,” SAM answered. “I have been running tests on your system while you slept. It seems that your time with Evfra has helped to mitigate some of the side effects, but I predict that within the next hour your body will begin the cycle anew.”

Ryder felt her stomach clench anxiously - or maybe not anxiously. “So I’m going to lose my mind again,” she observed.

“Affirmative.”

A heavy sigh pushed from between her lips as she rested her forehead against the wall, closing her eyes and trying to focus on breathing steadily. Maybe if she tried really hard, she could mitigate this stupid fucking heat. What was relaxing?

“SAM, look up yoga meant to help relieve tension and encourage relaxation, or...something,” she said into the empty air, pulling away from the wall and taking up position in the center of the room. Her brother had always said that yoga was helpful despite her teasing. Maybe it was time she listened to him.

SAM, bless his AI heart, diligently and calmly guided her through a series of yoga positions that succeeding in keeping her heartbeat from skyrocketing even as her body began to announce its desires. Her mind was calm enough that she could ignore the way a good stretch would inadvertently send a tingle of pleasure across her skin, could ignore the way her clit would occasionally give a needy throb to try and vie for her attention. An hour passed, and then another, and the heat was staved off and kept to the back of her mind as she found activities to distract her - yoga, and then laundry, and then fixing the bed with the cleaned but still torn sheets.

“This will never fit the same,” she murmured as she examined her tank, which usually bounced back into shape after a good washing, but the neck was stretched out and the fabric even thinner than it had already been when she arrived on the planet. She pulled it over her head, testing its fit, and found that the neckline rested too low now, that every shift made the material slip out of place and begin sagging down her body. 

There went any hope of wearing clothes again. Even the brief instinct to just go and get new clothes was immediately smothered. With her body so volatile, she didn’t want to wind up indecently exposing herself to the entire Aya marketplace. No - it was better to keep this isolated, to leave Evfra the only one who knew just how wrecked she could be.

But the idea of having _several_ angara tending to her, taking turns fucking into her-

A mortified blush overwhelmed her face as the direction of her daydream registered to her remaining sanity, and she gave herself a small and painful pinch on her arm. _No, Sara._

She was pulling her hair back from her face and still actively distracting her mind from itself when the door at her back slid open. She turned and the man of the hour stood there, frozen in place as his gaze wandered over her naked form.

There was a pulse of heat low in her stomach, a rush of arousal between her thighs, and a damning whimper stirred in the back of her throat. _Oh god, not again._

“I’m surprised to see you up,” he observed, stepping in as her mind finally registered the plate of food in his hand and an Initiative duffle bag hanging from his forearm. His gaze shifted, lingered on the bed, and there was a small downward tuck to his brow. “Did you do laundry?”

“The bed was disgusting,” Sara said, immediately feeling chastened for her blunt honesty. “And I only have one set of clothes.”

Evfra moved, tossed the duffle to the foot of the bed. “Jaal delivered this to headquarters this morning. He thought you might benefit from having something comfortable to change into.”

The mention of her crew had a blush spreading up her neck and to her cheeks. “How much do they know?”

“I can’t speak for the humans and other species you’ve collected on your ship,” he said. “But Jaal could smell you.” A small frown turned down his lips, the barest shift in expression. “Your scent was…difficult to remove.”

Mortification (and a small surge of arousal that she denied, even to herself, because she should not like the fact that everyone could smell her on Evfra like she had staked some fucking claim) didn’t even begin to describe the way she felt. She groaned, misery swarming her senses as she buried her face into her hands. “Oh, gods. That’s embarrassing. That’s mortifying. God, he’s going to think I’m - I’m,” -the word she wanted escaped her and she finished lamely- “unprofessional.”

To her surprise, Evfra laughed - a short bark of sound that she almost didn’t believe existed. “Do not worry about Jaal. He is increasingly loyal to you - to the point of lunacy. You could stab him in the chest and he would probably make an excuse for you.”

That shouldn’t have made her feel bad, but it did.

Evfra approached her finally, letting the door close once he was clear of it, and set the food down on the table. The proximity made that low-throb even worse. “How are you feeling?”

“Uh, well, I’m alive?” she answered hesitantly. He was so close, and she could smell him again - stronger and better than the scent that clung to her skin, because while the soap had taunted her it still missed that crucial undertone that was one-hundred percent _Evfra_. She tried to subtly inhale, to draw the scent into her chest and hold it there forever like a keepsake. “My throat still hurts, and I’m sore, but the shower helped with that.”

He was too close. Her body was starting to malfunction, skin prickling as a small chant began in the back of her mind, his name thundering along with the drumbeat of her heart. _Evfra Evfra Evfra Evfra_ -

“-listening, Ryder?” 

Her gaze jumped up to his, and she hadn’t even noticed that she was oogling him until his voice cut through the haze of her near-drunken mind. She blinked rapidly, and said: “I - sorry. What?”

Evfra gave a heavy sigh. He stepped closer, reached to drag his hand along her waist and then pull her to him. She melted into him, slid her arms around his shoulders and gave a tremulous sigh as she dared to breath him in directly, to nose along the thick slope of his neck. “Perhaps the sooner we address this, the easier it will be to have a conversation,” Evfra said. His hand slid down her back (when had he removed his gloves?) and then down to cup her ass, kneading and massaging the full and flushed flesh. A full body shiver wracked through her.

“Are you okay with this?” she breathed, eyes closing as she lapped at his pulse with small, fleeting brushes of her tongue. “You don’t have to do this, you can just lock me in here and leave.” That’s probably how most of the Initiative was dealing with the problem.

“If I wasn’t okay with this, I wouldn’t have offered” he said, pressing his fingers between her thighs to gently stroke the already damp silk of her center. It was the softest he had ever touched her, and still it ached. She groaned and bit down on his throat, muffling the sound, but it did little to help hide the whine that resonated through her when he sank one thick digit into her body.

Evfra got her off like this, standing in the middle of the room as he slowly fucked his finger into her, her body writhing and rocking against his hand until she was clutching around him and gasping delicately against his pulse. The orgasm steadied her slightly, allowed her time to breathe without thinking of the need, and Evfra withdrew to rest his hand at the small of her back.

“Is it a problem that other angara can smell me on you?” Ryder asked when her mind was mostly-clear. Her body still trembled, limbs still weak, but his body supported her weight well and he made no attempts to disentangle their embrace.

“They don’t recognize your scent the same way that Jaal and I do,” he answered. “They wont piece it together. Not unless they have spent enough time with you to identify you based on your pheromones alone.”

“Do you like the way I smell?” she blurted, her nose pressed under the curve of his jaw as she peppered kisses against his throat. Was it possible to be drunk on the scent of someone alone? The clarity from her orgasm was fading fast, overrun by the scent of Evfra filling her senses like a drug. She had no shame in breathing him in, didn’t even try to hide the contented little sigh the proximity brought.

“Yes,” Evfra answered. Sober, it would have surprised her. But Evfra had never been one to lie - so why would he lie now? Propriety didn’t matter here, not when they both knew full well where this interlude would end. Ryder ignored the way her heart twisted painfully at the thought.

“Good,” she breathed. “I like the way you smell. I like the way we smell together.” Her arms tightened around him, and she kissed her way down his jaw to nip at his chin. If she pretended, then this could almost feel normal - domestic. “Kiss me?”

There was no protest, no attempt to dissuade her - just Evfra’s fingers twisting in her hair to pull her head back as his lips pressed to her own, slow and steady as they locked into place. Ryder was pliant against him, her lips trembling slightly as she parted them against his and dared to let her tongue dance along the seam of his mouth until he opened to allow her a blessed taste. As their tongues pressed together the heat in her grew to a steady, distracting throb. It was nowhere near the strength of what she had faced last night, but it ruled her still. She knew that if she ignored it then the need would strip away her lingering dredges of sanity and she would be left begging and desperate.

But this - this was different. Ryder liked this. She needed _this_ , whatever it was.

Evfra guided her back carefully, hands clutching under her thighs to lift her into his arms and place her on the table. She didn’t even question why he chose the table instead of the bed, and a small part of her was thankful for it. It would be nice to sleep in clean sheets, even with the tears her nails had wrought. 

“Spread,” Evfra growled against her lips, one palm pressing to her thigh encouragingly. Sara obeyed, parted her legs for him as far as she could, and her body quivered at the subtle strain that hadn’t been there before.

“I’m tender,” she warned as his mouth pulled from hers, voice a husky rasp and soft in comparison to the weight of her breaths. “Be gentle with me. Please.”

“Will you be able to tell me if it’s too much?” Evfra asked with that burning gaze, the space between them too cold without the blessing of his touch. Her core constricted as her need pulsed angrily at her, a subtle reminder that it was still here and that it needed to be fed.

“I’ll try,” she promised, hands lifting to gently cradle his face, a strange earnestness to her tone that rarely featured there when her normal personality was so sharp and evasive. She would never have touched him like this, even yesterday, but now it felt natural. Evfra brought this strange creature out in her, and it terrified and enthralled her. How much was the heat, and how much was him, and how much was just her? “But I trust you. You said you would take care of me.”

There was something foreign in his eyes, something warm. “I did,” he agreed. “And I will.”

He pushed forward to kiss her again, and her fingers curled delicately against his skin as she gave a small little hum of contentment. The kiss sent slow dredges of lava sliding down her body, leaving fire in it’s wake until it settled in her core and pooled there, slow and roiling and not yet angry enough to cause an inferno. Ryder mewled gingerly, nipping and sucking at his lips while his hands massaged her thighs. When he pulled away she gave a small cry of disappointment as she sagged back against the wall, but the disappointment did not last long as he kneeled before her and blew a soft stream of cool breath over her center. The muscles in her thighs jumped eagerly at the sensation and her breath was stolen from her all over again as she watched, wide-eyed and eager.

There was an awareness that hadn’t existed before now, and the sight of Evfra kneeling before her was one she wanted committed to memory. One hand abandoned her thigh to deftly spread her flushed and swollen lips, fingers ever mindful of the brutal workout she faced the previous night, and the way he looked at her was enough to make her throb in a way that embarrassed her. His gaze darkened as her cunt tensed, and when he dipped to slowly drag his rough and textured tongue through the pink-silk of her body, she nearly went cross-eyed. 

“Evfra, fuck,” she breathed, body trembling as one thigh hitched itself into his shoulder and the other hunched up, heel hooking itself onto the edge of the table. “Yes - _yes_.”

Last night the sensation had been too much to keep her eyes open, the exhaustion an ever-present undercurrent that had her unable to fully appreciate the desperate grind of their bodies and the sight of his blue skin nestled so close to hers. This time, she was determined to watch.

Evfra kept her pussy spread with his fingers as his tongue slowly traced her entrance, gently circling where her body ached the most but never quite pushing in. There was a methodical quality to each move he made, and she didn’t doubt that he was exactly aware of what he was doing to her. Even yesterday when she had been frantic with need he had been methodical and purposeful. Was it even possible to unmake him the way he could so easily unmake her? A desperate part of her wanted to try.

His tongue flicked up and caught her clit, and her thoughts faded away as she whined. He kept his tongue to her clit, circled and prodded it as his gaze clashed with hers, and she was left writhing and whimpering as her hips jolted despite her best attempts to stay still for him. When her hips wrenched again, his tongue glided down back between his fingers, licking at her drenched entrance. As his tongue tasted her his other hand moved to press down low on the subtle pudge of her belly, heel exerting a subtle pressure that made her breath stutter with the next swipe of his tongue.

“You feel so good,” she purred, eyes heavy and refusing to close. “Oh, Evfra, Evfra, _Evfra_. Don’t stop, please, you feel so _good_.”

His tongue curled up underneath her clit, cradling the swollen nub and rocking against it carefully as her breath caught and a her lip wobbled precariously. Then his fingers moved away from their watchful position and the whimper that left her was mournful, even with the near-cruel flick of his tongue to distract her from their removal.

Then his finger slotted into place at her tender opening, still hesitant from the beating it had taken the night before. Despite herself she can feel her muscles tensing, can feel her body try to suck the digit into her body, and Evfra’s gaze was potent in its own right as he slowly pressed the thick girth of his finger into her heat. The gears of her mind stopped and broke as he spread her apart, her body easily parting to let him sink in one knuckle, then two, and then all the way in. Her expression crumbled then, mouth lolling open as her body arched and a breathy whine pushed from her lungs, an empty sound that morphed slowly into his name.

Evfra was almost painfully careful as he fucked his finger into her, setting a slow and steady rhythm that didn’t demand nearly as much as she expected of him. The tenderness almost ruined her all over again as her hips rock carefully against his probing finger, whimpering and sighing as she lifted her hands to carefully palm the tender skin of her breasts. Her fingers dug into her breasts, clutching herself as she trembled and quaked under his ministrations. Carefully - knowingly - he crooked a finger upward to find that place that he had noticed the night before, probing against the slick and spongey walls of her core until her hips gave a telling lurch and revealed his prize. The hand at her stomach pushed down against her womb in response, and the finger pressed up and began quickly massaging that bundle of nerves until Ryder’s hips were jerking and writhing and she came with a ferocity that she hadn’t predicted. He touched her through her orgasm, coaxing her into another, and then another, until her foot shifted to catch at his shoulder and she pushed carefully against him.

“Too much,” she gasped, heart fluttering in her chest as she pulled in heavy breaths that never quite did the job. “Too much. God, _Evfra_.”

Despite herself she was still watching him, gaze devouring his expression and the way her slick coated his lips and chin. Her body was still pulsating under him, clenching for the thing that she had turned away, and she reached for Evfra to try and sate it. He stood and stepped between her thighs to dip down and kiss her, easily interpreting her body language when her mouth failed to express anything other than his name. 

The burn was back, pulsing under her skin, and she wiggled under him while her fingers danced across his form. Why was he still dressed? “Evfra, I need you,” she murmured against his mouth, refusing to allow any more distance between them. “But I’m still sore.”

Her body didn’t care - her lust didn’t care - but her mind was there, solid and aware, and her mind was sober enough still beyond the relentless haze of desire to know that she couldn’t handle all of him like she had last night.

“We can wait,” he offered, one hand lifting and curling back in the silken strands of her hair, a possessive grip that makes her sigh like a lovestruck teen. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from him, even now with him so close.

“I can’t wait,” she admitted, too needy now to feel any sort of shame in her desires. Her mind raced as her body arched and pressed against his, the texture of his clothes against her hyper-sensitive skin sending a shiver through her.

And then she had an idea, and the thought alone sent a deluge of arousal through her in preparation.

“Just the tip,” she said. Her hand pressed to his chest and slid down slowly to the pronounced bulge of his groin, petting and stroking him through his clothes.

“The tip?” he echoed, brow arching even as his breath began to pant ever so slightly at the gentle press of her hands. She pressed her palm to his length and slowly dragged it up along him, then down again, remembering how every solid inch of him had filled and stretched her to the very brink of what she could handle. Her fingers grazed down lower to brush against the thicker swell of his knot, and a visible shudder rocked through him.

“Just the tip,” she repeated. “I promise it’ll feel good. Or you can take my mouth first, or my hands, or you can fuck my tits. But I need you inside of me, Evfra. I need you to come inside of me, it’s the only thing that helps.”

His hand shifted up to cup her breast, a hard grip that has her eyes fluttering as he stepped in close to nestle his clothed cock against her center. He rocked against her, hips grinding down against hers, and her eyes rolled back as a heavy groan stole away her thoughts. Their bodies rocked with each other, his breath heavy against her throat as he dipped his face down to suck and kiss a litany of marks against her tender skin, teeth dragging across the bruises as they began darkening her body. It felt juvenile, and she felt a bit like a teenager grinding uselessly against her first boyfriend in the back of her father’s car, but this was so much better than that had ever been, and she was a shivering mess of arousal with each brush against her swollen clit.

Then he pulled away, but this time she knew him better than to think he was leaving her. Her eyes flew open from where they had traitorously fallen shut and she watched greedily as he began stripping away his clothing until he was bare all over again and she could see his cock standing proud and eager between them. She couldn’t help but lick her lips, her mouth watering hungrily as her body throbbed.

He stepped closer, catching her legs under her knees and pulling them together before resting them both over one shoulder, one hand easily wrapping around her ankles to hold her in place. Ryder didn’t even try to fight - she let him manipulate her, let him position her like a doll, and when the head of his cock pressed to her tender entrance she was nothing short of enchanted. Their proximity forced her thighs close to her chest, building a tension in her lower back as she dragged in a thin breath of air.

Evfra rocked his hips forward, and she keened in a mix of pleasure and pain as the tip of his dick slid easily through the slick mess of her cunt to settle inside of her. Her body eagerly enveloped him, trying to take him deeper despite the tender ache that surged back to life with a vengeance at the stretch of her abused hole. Her hand flew down to wrap around him, gripping him tight with one and then both palms to keep him from sinking any deeper than they had agreed.

“Just the tip,” she shakily said, stuck somewhere in her own internal monologue and struggling to put words into order.

He kissed the side of her knee, his eyes dark and dangerous as he began to move, small and measured thrusts that stopped when the edge of her hand brushed against her labia. 

Trust was not something that she had considered necessary for this sot of engagement before, but here and now she knew that she trusted Evfra not to take advantage of what she offered him - trusted him not to slip in deeper than they had agreed, trusted him not to take advantage of her broken and desperate mind and sneak in deeper. It wasn’t as if she could or would stop him - she was too unhinged to be trusted with her own bodies care. That was something that future Ryder would have to deal with, but he never gave her the option to worry.

Something warm and living burrowed into her chest around her heart. Her hands stroked the length of him, soft and gentle, a small apology that she could not give him more of her cunt than this, and her hands squeezed him before slipping lower to delicately trace the thick swell of his knot. A growl, low and violent, resonated from his chest as her fingers tease the sensitive skin, and the next thrust he gives is harder, more instinctive, and he sinks in just a bit deeper.

“Careful,” she panted, anxiety spiking slightly as her pussy clenched in pleasure-pain. It had felt good, and part of her craved it, but she knew better than to trust her body now. Her body, for once, didn’t want what was best for her.

One hand tightened around him, keeping watch like a sentinel, tightening when he strayed too deep and keeping them both in check while the other wrapped as best it could around his knot. Evfra was devolving before her eyes, resorting to low growls and groans as his cock plunged into her, and she had never seen him so unmade before. What would it be like, to let him fuck her like this? To let him take her with a wild abandon that they could probably not afford?

His hips began to speed and her mind faded away, the twist low in her womb tightening and tightening to a painful point until her body clutched desperately around his and she sight out his name with a tenderness that she rarely afforded. It wasn’t long after that he’s coming, seed flooding her womb and staining her labia and thighs as he pulled out with a low groan.

Ryder basked. She couldn’t help herself. She leaned back into the wall, panting and slowly melting away to nothing as her eyes finally closed and her fingers dug into his shoulders to force him close, to keep him from sneaking away from her. She had no doubt that he could break her hold if he wanted to - she wasn’t trying so hard - but instead he leaned into her, let his forehead rest against her shoulder as their bodies slowly returned to some semblance of normalcy.

Hers isn’t quite sated - there is a steady thrum of desire that rushes through her body, but it’s no worse than it had been the day before, before the need became something unmanageable. 

“You should lay down,” Evfra finally said, pulling back from her but remaining within arms reach.

“I just washed the sheets,” she protested weakly, hands moving to pet along his collar and shoulders, up to his neck and cheeks, wanting nothing more than contact. “I don’t want to get them messy again.”

“They’re already ruined,” he reminded her. She gave his shoulder a firm, reprimanding nudge.

“But I have to sleep in them, Evfra,” she said. “They’ll get dirty again.”

Evfra does something that surprises her and rolls his eyes before sliding his arm around her and hauling her close. She gasped and clung to him, knowing he wont drop her but also not wanting to let an excuse to keep close pass her by. He carried her to the bathroom with an ease that shouldn’t surprise her and then deposited her in the middle of the shower, hands firm on her hips to keep her steady when it seems her legs are temporarily unwilling to cooperate. When she was steady he reached behind her to turn on the water, and the spray immediately slammed into her back. She yelped, the chill of the water taking her off guard, and practically leaps forward into his arms to try and steal the warmth from his body.

“Cold, cold, too cold!” she protested quickly, shivering against him.

“Be patient,” he scolded, one hand at her lower back while the other reached for his soap. Her body rested against his, completely dependent on his support, and he left one arm looped around her to keep her from sliding bonelessly to the floor. An idle part of her noticed that she couldn’t feel him against her, and that even as her sleepy and contented hands wandered along his form, all she could find was a tender slit near his groin that sent a full-body shudder through him when her fingers grazed along it before he batted her hands away with a small grunt. _Internal. Makes sense._

After that brief lapse, he took his time washing her, massaging the soap carefully into her skin until Ryder was nearly asleep in his arms, the water finally warm enough to stop her shivering. She didn’t stir, even when the shower cut off, and while part of her was aware it wasn’t aware enough that she could register the way he lifted and carried her back into her temporary bed.

What did wake her is when he pulled away. The sudden loss of contact forced her hand to reach out, eyes opening weakly to focus on him as her fingers twisted around his wrist. “Stay,” she breathed, voice soft and exhausted as she gave a weak tug to pull him close. “What if I need you again?”

“You are incredibly demanding, Ryder,” Evfra said. His tone was simple, backed with neither heat nor affection. Ryder didn’t know if the lack of emotion was better or worse. “I have work to do.”

“Will you come back?” she asked.

Evfra sighed, low and heavy, before nodding. “I will be back soon,” he assured her, and Ryder released her grip on his wrist to let him pull away from her. “Sleep. Eat. I wont have the most competent human I’ve met die because she’s too busy having sex to remember to eat.”

Her cheeks burned in embarrassment, but still a smile stole across her features despite herself. _Stupid hormones._ “I promise to be on my best behavior,” she agreed, voice barely above a whisper.

To her pleasure and surprise, Evfra laughed - a small bark of a sound that made her heart flop like an overly-contented rabbit. “I don’t think that exists, Ryder.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 up - and the next chapter will be the last, tying this shameless piece of smut into a nice little bow that I think we can all be satisfied. As always, update may take some time to get posted, so until then I've tried to avoid slapping you all with a cliffhanger.
> 
> EDIT: so I realized belatedly that instead of writing Drack I wrote Drax. Oops? That should all be fixed now.

Awareness slowly filtered into Ryder’s mind as sleep began to fade away, and as her mind went online she became aware of the warm expanse of a wide and intimately familiar body curled around hers. She didn’t move for a long moment, terrified of waking him, but she was drowning in his scent and before she could stop herself she rolled in closer to his body, nuzzling against his throat to blearily breathe him in. She felt drunk on him, and when Evfra made no move to remove himself from her Ryder indulged herself. Her arms wound around him as she kissed his collar and then went limp, eyes closing again as another wave of contentment stole her thoughts and pushed her into a lazy cat-nap, not fully asleep, and not fully awake.

The burn was there - familiar and lurking in the depths of her womb - but it was easy to ignore, like the warm tension that would taunt her in the mornings after a particularly vivid dream would overtake her. There was nothing that Ryder wouldn’t do to maintain this strange balance of peace that existed in this bed.

Eventually she felt Evfra shift against her, a slow inhale as he began to wake, and she felt his large hand span the length of her back in a slow and leisurely rhythm that was almost a pet. Evfra was _petting_ her.

Her heart flopped.

The hand slid lower, rounding over her ass and down to the thick swell of her thigh, which he squeezed almost tenderly. Ryder gave a soft little sigh and kissed his neck, sweet and gentle, and he gripped her thigh to lift it onto his hip.

It was then that she felt it - his cock, peeking out from the deep blue slit that she had inspected briefly the previous day, only half erect but doubtlessly interested in her. Evfra curled one arm around her shoulders, until her face was sandwiched against his chest, and rolled his hips forward. A shuddering gasp trembled from her as the head of his cock rocked through the slick at her core, and her eyes rolled back in her head as she went limp against him - giving him complete control without a second thought.

“Evfra,” she whispered, voice thick with sleep and finally back to its full potential after a full days recovery.

“Hush,” he murmured, and his voice made her core clench. His voice was so deep now, slow and measured, and it set her blood on fire. “It is too early to talk.”

Her gaze slid around the room as best she could from her cornered positioned, and she realized he had to be right - it was dark out still, and while different from Earth, Aya had very similar day and night cycles. It was either early morning, or the middle of the night - Ryder couldn’t be certain of which.

Though it may have been too early to talk, it didn’t keep Evfra from rocking against her, cock nudging at her entrance but never pushing beyond it as small, subtle vibrations resonated in his chest. _Was he purring?_

Each lazy thrust came with a small surge of pleasure and Ryder closed her eyes to simply savor this, her body soft and pliant as it rested in place next to his, and she could feel his cock slowly emerging from its sanctuary to prod more insistently, sinking a perilous inch into her before sliding out and past her opening. Once he was unsheathed entirely he released his grip on her thigh and shifted his hand up to grip her ass possessively. 

“Evfra,” she sighed against him, making no move to say anything else as he began to rock steadily against her. The heat that overtook her was lazy and slow, almost friendly, and Sara gave him little cries and whimpers as his cock slid across her cunt. Her body squeezed and contracted, but the desperation to be filled by him was an afterthought. 

_This is perfect_ , her mind purred as she rolled close, letting him rut against her however he wished. Even the heat was sated, content with his lazy display of desire, but a part of Ryder feared that if he didn’t come inside of her she would be left aching while he dozed back to sleep.

When his thrusts quickened, became more desperate, he caught her thigh again to spread her for him, and she felt the press of his tip back at her entrance. He dipped inside of her with a heavy grunt, and the arm at her shoulders - which she had almost forgotten - tightened to keep her in place. She was nearly smothered by him, and even sober her mind could find no reason to pull away or try to disengage. 

Quick little thrusts took over, small and measured as his tip rocked into her and back, just enough to keep him from leaving her body completely, and one of the smaller ridges along his dick kept catching her clit just so, and before she could stop herself her body was shuddering against his as a small, almost delicate orgasm trickled through her system. The fluttering of her pussy around his head was the final straw, and Evfra groaned, low and loud against her temple, as his cock twitched and he came inside of her. Each spurt was a relief to the relentless heat, calming it back to embers so that the same lazy desire from her first glimpse at awareness returned, contented and easy to ignore.

Though Evfra kept her close, he made no effort to keep himself inside of her. His cock slipped free as he began to retract into himself, and she could feel his seed dripping out of her to smear across her thighs.

“Go back to sleep, Ryder,” he murmured, and half-asleep Evfra had no compunction with pressing his nose to her temple and breathing her scent in as his grip went lax and the hand on her ass released its prize to remain there, staking a lazy claim.

“I’m a mess, Evfra,” she whispered back, one hand flitting across his chest before settling at his throat, relishing in the steady thud of his heart against her palm.

“I already knew that,” he harrumphed, and then his grip did tighten - yanking her close in some strange attempt to silence her as he fought to regain a few more hours of rest. Her heart gave another stupid flop and she couldn’t even find it in herself to be properly indignant over his comment, which she knew full well had nothing to do with the mess between her thighs.

Still she obliged him, falling back into a half-slumber with minor difficulty as she opted to instead focus on how fucking _amazing_ it felt to curl against Evfra like this, pushing away any doubting voice that tried to whisper why she was in danger of making an awful mistake in the back of her mind. 

The dawn of the third day came calmly in comparison to the way that her first two days had run her ragged. Evfra roused with the sun and returned to bring her food and water before letting her know that he would be home for the majority of the day - a pleasant change that she wasn’t sure was due to her presence here, or some natural work cycle that he had established long before her arrival. She didn’t dare ask, not wanting to rock the boat named ‘tentative peace’ that existed in the seas between them.

Ryder spent the majority of the day strewn across her borrowed bed, face-first in the pillow as she alternated between waking to get herself off with clumsy and sleep-hazed fingers and waking to shovel food into her face like a starved animal, and there was always food waiting for her when she woke. It made her heart do that stupid god damn flop that she loathed and adored, and she was certain that the end of this heat was going to ruin her whole fucking life.

Evfra was somewhere in the house. She occasionally heard footsteps as he moved about, but Ryder did not try to reach out to him for fear of being too needy. A small part of her admitted to itself that she wasn’t afraid of how he would respond to her neediness, but of how she would respond to it once she left.

SAM had told her during one of her waking moments that her estrogen levels were slowly leveling off faster than he had anticipated. Apparently, the regular fuck sessions had done wonders for calming her body down, and apparently (and this was the wildest part) there was some chemical component in angaran sperm that helped to mitigate the effects and lower her estrogen production level back to something closer to normal, at least for a few hours. It was one scientific discovery that she did not feel was worth bringing to Addison’s attention, because the very idea of explaining how she made this discovery screamed lecture-potential.

It did explain why she was so desperate for it, though. And she had thought it was just some instinctive bullshit. No - there was science supporting it. Weird ass science, but, science.

Eventually she felt too gross to continue her self-imposed exile, and she rose to again strip off the sheets and toss them into a pile on the floor before stepping into the bathroom to take full advantage over what she humbly thought was one of the angara’s best inventions.

“SAM, how much effort would it take to install one of these on the Tempest?” Sara asked as she covetously scrubbed liberal amounts of Evfra’s body wash into her skin, ignoring the bottles of her own body wash that sat unused on the shower’s shelf. 

“It would take approximately two weeks to remove the current installation and replace it with an angaran model,” SAM replied diligently.

“Damn,” she murmured. “So that’ll go on the backburner for now, I guess. That fuckin’ sucks.”

She ran her hands over her breasts, a small shiver running down her spine as the perfume filled the air around her and made her a bit dizzy. The smell was intoxicating and wonderful and even if it was missing that essential piece of Evfra that drove the whole effect home, it didn’t stop her from derailing and sliding her fingers into herself for the umpteenth time that day, getting herself off with the scent of him heavy around her.

God, she was turning into a freak. It was almost pavlovian at this point. What was wrong with her?

After a final rinse to completely remove any residual signs of arousal from her body (for the moment at least) Sara stepped from the shower and toweled off, stepping into the room unclothed and expecting to be alone. Instead she saw Evfra standing there, leaning over her bed and stretching new, clean sheets across the mattress. Sara paused and he turned, gaze automatically moving over her before meeting her eyes.

“You got new sheets?” Ryder asked, lamely.

“You shredded the ones I had,” he reminded her. He tucked the final corner under and turned to face her, stance casual and relaxed in a way that Ryder did not share. She awkwardly held the towel to her chest, partially covering herself. She shouldn’t feel awkward at all - but her heart was insistent on doing stupid flipping shit that made her feel like a fool. What the hell was she supposed to do with that? Especially after how he had held her that morning? This was the worst.

“Oh, well. Yeah. Sorry about that. Technically it was your fault too, though,” she said, internally decided _fuck it_ before dropping the towel into the laundry basket that had appeared in her room overnight and stepping boldly over towards her bag, which was unzipped and disheveled from her earlier rummaging. She fished out a pair of underwear and stepped into it with minimum stumbling before fishing out another, still functional tank top and puling it over her head. 

When she turned, she didn’t expect to see heat in Evfra’s eyes as he watched her, but there it was, trying to burn a hole through her. Her insides twisted and throbbed and her breath caught in her throat.

“You smell like me,” he said. Her cheeks burned pink.

“I like your soap more than mine,” she responded awkwardly. Evfra stepped towards her without hesitation, one hand circling her wrist to tug her close as his head dipped to press his nose to her throat. Her lips parted as a shaky breath left her, and another, harder throb went through her. _I just showered, dammit._

“I’ll get you some,” he said, and then his tongue was snaking out of his mouth to drag torturously slow across her pulse. Her eyes rolled back as tremor went through her.

“Evfra, I just showered,” she protested with a small little gasp.

“I don’t care,” he said, and his hand was at her shirt to tug it down under her breasts, a small rip sounding around them as she realized _god dammit, not another shirt._

All complaints fled from her mind as his hands lifted to greedily encase her breasts, squeezing them slowly and methodically as his mouth began sucking and biting along her throat. Her body was flushed with heat and she went limp, body leaning into his for support as he touched her leisurely, as if he had all the time in the world.

A part of her twisted up as she realized that this was the first time he had come to her. Her heart flopped, and she didn’t have the will to curse it this time. She was already too far gone and gods, but she wished that she was talking only about arousal.

The heat was there still, she couldn’t deny it, but it was Ryder that reached out to gently catch his face in her hands and lift him to her lips, it was Ryder who kissed him slow and steady with an undercurrent of affection that made her eyes burn for an entirely different reason. _Casual sex never works,_ her mind whispered traitorously as her tongue lazily lapped at his lips, coaxing them to part so she could slip her tongue against his. _It’s chemical - you can’t help yourself from growing feelings._

Ryder pushed the voice aside and lost herself to the warmth that enveloped her, softer and kinder than the heat that had ruled her every motion for the last two days. His hands were insistent as he brushed teasingly across her nipples, slow and measured flicks of his fingertips until she was quivering and gasping sweetly against his mouth. He took advantage of her dazed state, tongue sweeping demandingly into her mouth to taste her at his whim, and Ryder could only yield to him. Her body shivered as heat wound around her spine and pooled between her thighs, a soft reminder of what she wanted without any of the heavy demands that it had made before.

His hands inevitably abandoned her breasts when they were flushed and tender, slipping down to hook in the edges of her underwear and tug it down her hips. She shifted to help him pull them from her entirely with minimal loss of contact, his mouth sweeping across her skin when he knelt to remove them and toss them aside. He straightened quickly, mouth returning to hers - already pink and swollen from the affection - as his hands began working on his own clothes. There was no effort made to strip entirely, only to push his pants down and let his unsheathed cock free. Ryder didn’t even have an instant to touch him, though her hands were clearly moving to, before he caught under her thighs and lifted her.

The feat of strength made her body clench eagerly as she wound her arms around his cowl while he hooked her thighs over his hips. One hand kept a possessive grip on her thigh, tight enough to bruise (and she was certain that it would) while the other pressed between them to drag a finger through her slick and then into her with startling ease. Her body was prepared for the way his finger stretched her, and where at first there had been a subtle edge to every time he took her, now there was only pleasure - a soft, receptive spread of her body around his as she trembled and sighed against him. 

“Evfra,” she breathed, voice warm and smooth as she peppered kisses along his cheek and jaw. “Evfra, please. I want you.”

“Be patient,” he reminded her, and though his voice was still firm it was softer now - warm like hers as he diligently stretched her open, her body gladly accepting his fingers as they worked to bring her pleasure as they prepared her. A small orgasm fluttered through her system as his fingers curled just so, and as she melted into him - letting his body completely support her weight - she felt his cock prodding patiently at her entrance. His grip shifted to her ass, which she was beginning to think he was particularly fond of, and then gave a small pull to drag her into place. That small tell-tale sting of his cock as it pressed into her had her whining, arching into him and rolling her hips against his grip to take him deeper, and in a steady, fluid motion he drew her down onto the length of his dick, until he was rooted in her to the hilt.

Soft gasps and exaltations were the only things she could offer as he guided her hips, forcing her to ride his cock while her fingers scrambled for purchase in his clothes, twisting in his shirt as she writhed above him. And he just supported her weight without thought, never hesitating to adjust his grip or give himself a break. _Fuck, he could probably break me in half if he tried._

“Evfra, please,” she whined, kissing his temple and staying there as she panted against his skin. She felt so full, so perfect, and it brought tears to her eyes as her voice caught in her throat. “Don’t stop, never stop - _please_.”

He quickened his pace at her pleading, thrusting up hard and making her squeal as his knot pressed dangerously close to her, taunting the edges of her entrance with the idea of taking him. It didn’t hurt as much as she thought it would and her heart thundered in her ears as she dared to wonder - could she take it? Could she handle his knot? Gods, she wanted to.

Another thrust, stronger than the last, and the tension inside of her doubled as she felt that tell-tale stretch again, his knot pressing closer and closer, teasing her entrance with each heavy thrust, and Ryder’s eyes rolled back as her body began to tense and quake.

“Do it,” she gasped - knowing (or perhaps hoping) that he would know what she was asking for. “Do it, Evfra, please. I want it.”

The growl that followed made her whimper, and his grip on her shifted and tightened as he dragged her down onto his cock with purpose, and with a feral sound that shouldn’t have effected her the way it did, he gave a final cant that pushed his knot into her. The stretch was painful - she wouldn’t lie - but gods, it was everything she wanted. She came with a tormented little wail, head falling back as stars blasted across her vision, and she could feel thick ropes of his come coating her insides as his fingers dug bruises into her hips and ass, keeping her body rooted in place against his. She felt raw and open, her body aching pleasantly as she leaned back into him and pressed open mouth kisses across his throat. Her whole body was trembling, and he kept her cradled carefully against him as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Are you alright?” he asked, sounding far more affected by their predicament than she expected.

“Yes,” she sighed contentedly, closing her eyes and basking. It hurt, but in a way she wanted - in a way she realized, perversely, she craved. What a pair they made. 

Eventually the swelling went down enough for him to slip from her core, and she trembled as he withdrew completely, disappearing back into his sheath. Curious fingers slipped down between them to gently trace the deep blue slit left behind, touch barely there, and a full body shudder wracked Evfra’s frame. She pulled her hand back and her gaze lifted up to match his. “Good, or bad?” she whispered.

“Good,” he assured her, even as his fingers caught her wrist and lifted her hand away. “But too much. Another time, Ryder.”

She nodded and he released her wrist to let her wind back around him. They remained like that, intertwined on the edge of the bed, until she could feel his seed slowly dripping out of her and catching on her thighs. She withdrew and shakily returned to her feet, his hands lifting to steady her automatically.

“Now I have to shower again,” she said, shifting uncomfortably to try and keep his essence inside of her, at least until she made it to the shower. Her thighs clenched together. She reached out, brushed her fingers along the edge of his cowl as their eyes met. “I don’t think I’ve ever bathed so much in one weekend before. I’m blaming you for this.”

His brow shifted up, a brief hint of amusement stealing across his features. “You started this, Ryder. I just finished it.”

Sara laughed, head falling back as she shoved his shoulder and finally stepped back from him. “You ass. I’m going to clean up. Again.”

“Don’t get too distracted,” he called as she turned her back to him. “It’s distracting.”

Nothing could have hidden the way her face erupted into flames as she shut herself into the bathroom, but fortunately she didn’t think Evfra could smell her blush.

Unless he could.

The rest of the day was a slow haze of sex, food, and rest, though the sex was slowly smattering away until even just his mouth was enough to sate the need that would have otherwise overwhelmed her - and Evfra certainly seemed to be up to the task.

_Maybe he wants me, too,_ her mind traitorously breathed, a small sliver of hope burying into her useless heart. _Maybe this wont end tomorrow._

Tomorrow came, and she woke alone, her body exhausted and free of any excessive lust. There was a datapad waiting on her nightstand and when she read it, she saw it was a message from her gracious host.

_Pathfinder-_

_Your body has returned to normal, according to your AI. I’ve sent a message to your ship, and Jaal will be here shortly (around 10) to help guide you back to the docks. Make sure you grab everything that you need. I put everything I saw back in your bag._

_Evfra._

Her heart fell in her stomach. His letter was so impersonal. Was it wrong for her to have expected a bit more? She had thought that after yesterday, something had changed, that he had held her differently than he had that first night, that maybe-

_Don’t be stupid, Ryder. It’s just a neurochemical nightmare. Just put distance between yourself and Aya and let your body get over itself._

Her body was tense and uncomfortable as she grabbed a fresh set of clothes and dressed quickly, haphazardly shoving her sleep shirt back into the bag before zipping it up.She shouldered the bag and stepped out of the room, feeling like she couldn’t get far enough away from the scene of the crime. 

She felt like a fucking idiot, and it really sucked. Ryder was used to making poor choices and dealing with the consequences, but she wasn’t used to having them hit home like this. 

A quick glance at the clock told her that there was only about ten minutes before Jaal was due to arrive, and so she found her way to Evfra’s kitchen to rummage around in his fridge. To her surprise she saw a plate, covered and marked with a strip of paper that had her name across it. 

Her heart flopped, and she mentally flipped it off. _Don’t fall for it, Ryder. Don’t be stupid. He’s just upholding his end of the bargain, that’s all._

Still, even if a small part of her wanted to stubbornly leave the food untouched, her stomach growled and she was too hungry to let her pettiness sabotage herself. She grabbed the plate out of the fridge and greedily shoveled food into her mouth, and though the fact that it was paste was weird, she’d gotten used to it over the past three days - almost even enjoyed it.She set the dishes into the sink and rinsed them off before there was the sound of a door opening.

A traitorous part of her heart hoped it was Evfra, but she turned and there was Jaal - smiling at the sight of her with the same kindness he always had for her. “Ryder! It is good to see you are well. How are you?”

There was no answer that wasn’t potentially mortifying. She really didn’t want to talk about the wild sex she’d had with his boss all weekend. “Tired, but alright,” she said, flashing him a small smile as she began pulling her hair back into a ponytail, mentally trying to remind herself that she was the Pathfinder again - not Sara, not Ryder. Pathfinder.

“Excellent. I must admit that I am eager to return to the ship. While I have no problem housing Liam and Drack, I’m sure that you can imagine that space became an issue very quickly,” Jaal said, quickly pulling her into a conversation and leaving little room for her to think about how her weekend had gone. “Everyone is eager to get back to work.”

“Good - cause I’m antsy from being shut in all weekend,” she said, moving towards him and ignoring both the way her thighs still ached from the exertion (and not-her-thighs) and his nostrils flared wide as he caught wind of her scent. There was a fleeting shift of expression in his face, surprise and concern, before it faded away to something faker. Still happy, but guarded. He looked confused, bless his heart, and she didn’t blame him in the slightest.

It just made her feel like the subtle limp to her step was all the more obvious. She tried desperately not to think about it.

“How’s Cora doing?” she asked as they left, Jaal pausing to lock the door behind them.

“Cora is doing well,” Jaal assured her. “But she is very sore.”

Sara’s brain paused. “Sore?” she asked without thinking. Had Cora-?

“Yes. Apparently, as far as Lexi was willing to share, the whole ordeal put a lot of strain on her body, and she isn’t fully recovered from the effects. She is going to need at least three more days before she’s fit for active duty, and the crew has been warned not to bother her.”

“She can take my quarters,” Sara said without hesitation. “I’ll sleep with the crew.”

_PHRASING, RYDER._

“I’m sure that she will appreciate that,” Jaal said, not picking up at the innuendo. 

They stepped onto the main throughway of the residential district and Sara was immediately soothed by the smell of fresh air and the gentle breeze that brushed across her skin. The storm had passed, and now the temperature on Aya was the perfect shade of chilly without becoming uncomfortable. It felt amazing after so long locked in the same room, and the burst of color and life had her smiling despite her otherwise dour mood.

But now she couldn’t help but wonder, how much did the crew know? How much did she want them to know? Did she even want to risk asking? Her gaze awkwardly darted over to Jaal, who kept their pace quick and lively as he guided her the long way from Aya’s residential distract to the market. Was it to keep the other angara from picking up on her scent? She was sure that Evfra’s smell was imprinted deep into her very being at this point. Oh god, what if it never left?

“Jaal, I have a question,” she blurted before fully deciding she wanted to ask at all.

“Of course. What is it?” Jaal asked without hesitation.

“I - how much do the crew know?” she awkwardly asked. “I mean, I’m assuming that you - well. Shit. How much do you know, I guess, should be my first question? Gods, I’m sorry. This is awkward. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Jaal shook his head and paused them in a fairly isolated strip of roadway, hand coming to rest casually on her shoulder. “Sara. It is not an awkward question - you need to know what your crew knows before discussing anything with them. It is a fair request. As far as what I know…” He shrugged, rubbed the back of his neck with his other palm. “Well, I did not know anything for certain until I saw you. You - well. You smell as if you and Evfra have been alone together for weeks, and since it has only been three days, I assume there is only one reason that would explain it.”

_Oh gods, I smell like a sex addict. Great._

Jaal continued, unaware of the turn of her thoughts. “However, the crew knows nothing other than the fact that Evfra kept you in a spare room while you went through the worst of your heat and made sure that you were safe. They know nothing more beyond that. Drack may have some assumptions about what happened - Krogan smell is the only we have found to rival our own - but he will not say anything unless you do first.”

“But my heat - ugh, that’s so awkward - my heat ended way sooner than Cora’s did,” she reminded him, shuffling awkwardly and trying to ignore the pleasant tenderness the shift brought. _Don’t think about Evfra._ “They might ask questions.”

“You can tell the others that I helped your body process the chemicals as quickly as possible,” SAM intoned. “It is a lie, but one that they would believe.”

It wasn’t a bad idea, and if the smile on Jaal’s face was anything to go by, he thought it was a good idea, too. “See? Everything will be fine, Ryder. There is no need to worry.”

Sara hated it, but she didn’t really believe him. Because how could things be fine when she had this cancerous tumor called _feelings_ haunting her every thought?

“You’re right,” she sighed, hanging her head slightly and rubbing her temples. “I’m overthinking this. I need a fucking vacation. This weekend didn’t count.”

“Soon,” Jaal assured her, giving her shoulder a final, friendly pat before letting his hand drop and setting off again, assuming that Ryder would be right behind him. She was of course, jogging to catch up and wincing with every other step, but when he realized he slowed and blessedly made no comment either way. She felt some form of ease settle over her as they entered the familiar streets of the markets, and when she finally saw the Tempest again she thought that she was going to cry.

“I didn’t know it was possible to miss a stupid ship,” she said, pausing before taking a moment to admire it’s shining hull. Then she remembered - “How did the repairs go?”

“Excellently!” Jaal said, beaming. “Some of our best engineers helped and sped the process up. It was done within a day.”

A day. Her stomach squirmed and bottomed out. _I could have come back before things got worse._

“That’s great!” she lied, smiling wide and feeling like it was a successful lie. “Means there was plenty of time to test everything. We’ll be back at the Nexus before you know it.”

“Ah - so that will be our first stop?” Jaal asked as the duo stepped forward and began walking up the ramp.

“Figure we at least need to stop by and let Addison know that I didn’t fuck a swathe through Aya’s eligible bachelors,” she joked, and then felt tasteless for making the joke at all. Partially because a very real part of her would have done just that if Evfra hadn’t taken care of her. _Like he had promised._

Ryder shoved the thought down violently as she crossed the threshold into the belly of the Tempest. Half the crew was loitering around the Nomad, and when they spotted her their faces immediately lit up and a chorus of “Ryder!” peppered the air. Liam, Peebee, Gil, Vetra, and Drack opened up the small circle they had formed, allowing her and Jaal to step into the fold, and Liam was the first to step in and pull her into a hug, clapping her on the back.

“You feeling alright, Ryder?” he asked as he pulled back, giving her a once over. “Lexi gave us a low down on some of the details. Sounds rough, buddy.”

“It wasn’t easy,” she said magnanimously, determinedly ignoring the small part of her brain that chanted Evfra’s name like a sad, hopeless puppy waiting for its master to come home. “But I made it out in one piece.”

Drack was staring at her. He had that look in his eyes, like he knew what she wasn’t saying and wanted to say something badly, but he remained silent. She counted it as a small blessing.

“Cora looked rough when we caught a glimpse of her,” Peebee said, and there was a gleam to her eye that told Ryder the asari was almost enjoying the chaos - and probably enjoying the accidental extension of their leave, to boot. “But T’Perro was quick to usher everyone along before we got to ask any real questions.”

Ryder knew what that meant. She steeled herself, straightening imperceptibly. “I take it that means you want to pepper me with questions instead now,” she said.

“What exactly happened?” Peebee asked, voice getting that excited edge it always got when she was particularly interested in something. Usually it only involved discussions on Remnant - not Ryder. “Did you - you know.” She gave a brow waggle that told Ryder exactly what Peebee meant.

“Did I what? Lie in bed miserably for three days while my body decided it wanted to single-handedly repopulate the entire Nexus?” she asked, voice dry to hide her evasiveness. “Yes. I did, actually. It was a very comfortable bed.”

Drack snorted, but said nothing. She owed him drinks later.

“That’s boring,” Peebee decided, bracing a hand on her waist as she cocked her hip. “You should have lied just to make it interesting.”

“Okay. I singlehandedly slept with every eligible angara in the whole marketplace,” she responded, voice monotone as she raised a single, defiant brow. “It was ridiculous. My vagina is a cavern. Jaal had to carry me back to the ship because I’ve lost all functionality in my legs. I will probably somehow find a way to bare angaran children with the deluge of sperm I’ve absorbed in my tiny human body.”

“You know, I changed my mind,” Peebee sighed, flicking a hand dismissively while Liam’s face screwed up in a strange panic-disgust reaction he couldn’t help while Jaal was flushing a subtle shade of purple - probably because he knew that chances were, she wasn’t that far from the truth. She would apologize to him later for making him think of Evfra like that. Probably. If she remembered. “It isn’t as interesting now that I know it isn’t true.”

“I feel like I still learned too much information about you, Ryder,” Liam said, slowly shaking his head. “Even if it isn’t true.”

_Oh you fucking wish it wasn’t true._

“Lets cut Ryder a break,” Vetra said reasonably, giving her a small nod of solidarity. “She looks exhausted. Let her at least get a full nights rest before we start blackmailing her.”

“Ouch. I almost thought you were going to take my side for a second there,” Sara said, rubbing her chest over her heart as if to sooth the wound left behind. “Way to get my hopes up.”

“That’s my job,” Vetra responded without pause as she moved to give Sara a clap on the shoulder. “We’re happy to have you back, Ryder. Go get some rest. You look like you need it.”

The crew dispersed shortly after, mingling only for a few moments before the ever-present call of work pulled them away to their stations. Sara gave a slow exhale as she was finally left in peace, making her way back to her cabin as a foreign moroseness claimed her and pulled the remaining wind from her sails. She tossed the bag that she’d lived out of for the past three days onto her bed and put her face to her hands to try and center herself, breathing in slowly to try and dispel the strange weight from her lungs.

Eventually the weight lessened and she pushed herself onward, digging into her bag to begin sorting her clothes out into dirty and clean, and as she dug deep to find her datapad that she had admittedly ignored for most of the duration, her nails clinked loudly against what sounded like…glass?

Sara’s brow furrowed. “What?” she murmured, switching tactics to wrap the glass something in her palm (it was only slightly bigger than her hand) and lift it from the bag. She recognized it immediately, and her whole body stop and tensed.

In her hand was a small, utilitarian jar, capped and labeled with a nondescript and angular script: _soap_. Though she didn’t need to she untwisted the lid and lifted it to her nostrils, breathing in deep and feeling the immediate pavlovian rush of heat between her thighs as the overwhelming scent of pure, unadulterated Evfra hit her senses. He had gotten her soap, as he’d promised. Her heart constricted in her chest and she sat the soap jar aside with a sort of reverence before digging manically through her bag to try and find anything else he might have left - and came back victorious when she pulled out a folded and slightly wrinkled slip of paper.

_Enjoy._


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are, at the end of all things.
> 
> This is definitively the last chapter. I really do want to thank everyone who read this - I believe it's officially the most praise I've ever gotten on a work before, and I am undoubtedly so proud of myself, and so thankful for everyone who has taken the time to comment and leave a kudos. I hope that you're satisfied with the ending, I felt like drawing it out any more than I already have would do the story a disservice. Enjoy and maybe someday you'll see some more Andromeda fic from me.

It didn’t take a detective to realize that Sara was pining. She hated admitting it even to herself, but the knowing glances that Jaal would shoot her whenever they crossed paths after she had disappeared into the shower was enough to make her want to melt into a pile of shameful goo on the floor and spend the rest of her life traveling via osmosis from problem to problem. She’d like to see Jaal give goo-Sara sympathetic glances then.

That wasn’t a totally fair assessment.

Jaal hadn’t treated her any different than he had before her uterus decided she wanted to fuck a swathe through the town. He still smiled, touched a little too much for a human definition of ‘just friends’ and just the right amount for the angaran definition of ‘just friends,’ laughed boisterously at her jokes and offered the biggest puppy-dog eyes whenever he caught even a whiff of sadness from her. But Sara knew just enough about angara and their senses to know that he, without a doubt, could smell the thick scent of Evfra’s soap whenever she left the showers, could catch every subtle whiff of her biology whenever _she_ became hyper aware of the smell, and she knew - or theorized - that Jaal was the lone person on the Tempest who knew exactly how badly she missed the damn resistance leader.

And she did. She _missed_ him. 

At first Ryder had played it off as residual heat. It didn’t help that every time she moved the bruises that absolutely riddled her skin would sting just so and she would be left overwhelmed with the memories of how his fingers would drag across her skin and hurt her just right, how his palm was large enough to encase her breast in a possessive grip that she craved, how his mouth felt when he would drag his teeth down the length of her throat and score her skin with raised welts that always disappeared too soon for her liking.

But then a week passed, and then another, and as the bruises faded (barring the darkest that commemorated Evfra’s fingers on her thigh, now dusting to an ugly yellow as it clung to her skin in its final death throes) the ache didn’t. She woke feeling cold and lonely, sometimes thoughtlessly rolling over to find a familiar angaran figure that wasn’t waiting for her. The dreams were absolute torment and as the third week came to a close she was left with an ache in her chest that had nothing to do with the long-faded ache between her thighs.

Sara supposed she would feel better about this if he would just fucking message her, but Evfra was a professional to the end, and she knew despite any of her silly little fantasies that unless he needed her, her inbox would remain empty and she would remain. Wanting. Waiting.

Part of her was relieved that the waiting and wanting had fairly little to do with any sort of sexual desire - that had been quick to drop down to somewhere below her normal sex drive’s usual residence, overworked and over-sated as she was. Even if she had wanted to get off, her body wouldn’t have let her without some form of protest.

Whenever she was alone though, Sara knew that desire would have been a kinder residual to deal with. These stupid feelings were far worse than what her vagina could ever deal her - and her vagina had wanted some _strange_ things in the past.

“You need to get out,”Drack said, arms crossed over his chest as he watched her putter around the kitchen in search of food. “You’re smelling up the whole ship.”

“I think you’re exaggerating,” Sara said, pulling a tub of smuggled ice cream from the freezer before kicking the door shut behind her as she began shuffling around for a spoon. “I smell like daisies and sunshine.”

“You smell like hormones and angara,” Drack grumbled. “Look, kid, sometimes you just gotta go out there and grab life by the quad.” He extended a hand, squeezing his fist and making Sara’s brow slowly rise towards her hairline, an amused grin curling the corner of her lips. Drack paused and then asked: “Do angara have a quad?”

“If they do, it’s all internal,” she said, popping a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

“Don’t even know if they have a quad,” he sighed and shook his head. “Ryder, I’m starting to think you didn’t do a very good job of it.”

“That’s very rude,” Sara said, unaffected. “If they’re anything like turians, they don’t exactly appreciate sticking your hand in their slit to fondle the goodies.” She made a thrusting motion of her hand and wiggled her fingers around in the empty space.

“Did you ask?” Drack stared at her, and Sara was certain in this moment that this was the worst and strangest conversation she had ever had in her life.

“No, I didn’t _ask_ \- I wasn’t exactly coherent most of that week to think of asking ‘hey Evfra, do you want me to fingerblast your dick sheath?’” she retorted, cheeks flushing incriminatingly. Her voice jumped an octave as she tried to whisper, a failed attempt to regain any sort of privacy in this hell ship that was her life, “Are you - are you _judging_ me for not fucking his slit?”

“That isn’t the point, Ryder,” Drack groused. “Why didn’t you just ask? Because of him, or because of the heat?” he asked, eyes narrowing. Oh, gods, was Drack prepared to be insulted on her behalf if she answered wrong? Was she throwing Evfra under the bus? Was she signing his death warrant at the hands of a weirdly protective Krogan warlord?

“Both?” she answered uncertainly. “Look, I don’t know, Drack, thinking isn’t my strong suit, you know that.”

“Liar.”

Sara flung a glob of ice cream at his face and it collided with the wall as he easily dodged the projectile, surprisingly agile for being both a krogan and old as balls. The krogan chuckled, low and heavy, and reached to plant one large hand on her shoulder, nearly sending her to the ground. “Look, Ryder. You’ve done a good job of convincing the other’s that everything’s fine, but Jaal and I know better.”

“Oh my fucking god have you talked to Jaal about this!?” her voice shot up to that painful octave, and whispering was no where on her radar until her own pitch made her wince and adjust, voice dropping to an angry whisper as she said, “That is so unprofessional and I cannot _believe_ that you two would _gossip_ about my sex life-“

“We didn’t, and you wouldn’t be surprised if we did,” Drack interrupted.

Well. He wasn’t wrong.

Drack continued: “We can smell it. And we aren’t blind, Ryder. Every time you leave the showers you get this stupid look on your face and then you disappear for an hour. It’s obvious.”

“Why are you two so damn observant?” she demanded, hackles rising defensively as she crossed her arms over her chest and proceeded to fumble with the ice cream tub. She caught it and sat it on the counter to cross her arms properly, ignoring the mounting amusement on Drack’s face. _Damn Krogan asshole._

“Because we worry about you, kid,” he said.

_Oh._ _Now I’m the asshole_.

All the winds left Sara’s indignant sails and her shoulders dropped as she looked down to the floor, cheeks flushing with a mix of shame and embarrassment. She kicked her toe against the floor, desperate to avoid the resurgence of emotions that were better left ignored. When did her emotions ever get her anywhere good in life?

“Look,” she sighed and pushed her bangs back from her face, casting her gaze to the side to avoid meeting his knowing ones. It was always easier to be honest when she was speaking to a wall or a floor, not a person. Her voice lowered, soft and honest as she said, “It’s not exactly easy. I spent 72 hours with him, we shared a bed, and when I wasn’t busy trying to get myself impregnated I was just…with him. And it was _nice._ And it’s stupid but I feel like I got to see a part of him that people just don’t think exists anymore, and he took such good care of me-“

Her lip wobbled traitorously. _Oh no._ _Don’t you dare fucking cry you giant piece of shit baby._

“And you’re used to taking care of other people,” Drack said, reading the thoughts that she was too stubborn to reveal herself. “Not the other way around. So you got invested.”

“It’s stupid,” she said, sniffing to try and steel her spine as she straightened and turned to begin packing away the ice cream again, suddenly not wanting it. 

“Well, yeah. You humans tend to be,” Drack said. “But that’s just how it goes sometimes. You get all emotional and clingy and then you make things weird.”

Sara snorted. “Not really helping, Drack.”

“I’m not trying to lie to you, Ryder,” he grumbled. “No point in it. But you got a quad, and I don’t exactly like seeing you this torn up about whatever happened. Either he cares or he doesn’t and that has nothing to do with you. You’re better than this, Ryder. Look, if it’ll make you feel better, we can go to Aya and trash the resistance headquarters while he’s away.”

Sara laughed. “I don’t think that would help at all, actually, but I appreciate you offering. Besides. He’s never away.”

Drack clapped her on the shoulder again, and pushed away from the counter. “Go cheer yourself up. We’ve got some kett to kill. I know that always manages to cheer me up.”

He left her alone to finish whatever it was she had started to distract herself (why was she holding a can opener?) and despite how awkward the conversation had been, Sara found that she did feel better. Or at least a little bit better. She tucked her hair back behind her ear before steeling her spine and vanishing into her quarters just in time for SAM to announce: “You have a message waiting in your private terminal, Pathfinder.”

“Thanks, SAM,” she said automatically, moving to her computer and pulling up the message system without bothering to take a seat (half the time she was too busy doing 20 other things to actually sit and use her terminal). But she wished she had taken a seat when she saw the message waiting for her.

It was from Evfra.

_Oh no._

She opened the message quicker than she would have liked to admit to, quickly scanning over the contents with a blind hope that she knew was useless.

_Ryder,_

_My troops have brought some information to my attention that you might be interested in. Return to Aya when you have time. I prefer to handle this in person._

_Evfra_

He preferred to handle this in person. What did that mean? Did that mean he wanted to see her? That he was interested in maybe-

“Shut the fuck up Ryder oh my god,” she murmured, sending a quick reply that said simply: _We’ll be there within the next week. See you soon._

And while at the time, ‘see you soon’ had been included simply as a statement of fact that she often included in her messages when that was the case, the moment she hit send she was struck with the anxiety of _‘oh god what if he thinks i’m thinking about fucking him again?’_

“SAM is there any feasible way that you can go into my brain and beat it up for me?” she asked as she buried her face in her hands and stared down at the table in exhausted resignation.

“Negative. However, I can adjust your production of dopamine to offset any anxiety you are feeling,” he offered helpfully, and god bless that little AI for always trying to take care of her.

“No. It’s fine,” she sighed heavily and straightened, yanking her hair down from its ponytail and dragging irritable fingers through the slightly-greasy strands. She needed to shower. “Let Kallo know to queue up Aya. Once we finish this job on Voeld, we’re heading that way.”

The mission on Voeld took three days to finish, including travel time. When Ryder returned to the Tempest she was stained with a mix of dried medi-gel, Kett guts, and splashes of turian blood from where Vetra had taken a few shots in the arm that had left it immobilized for the rest of the fight - but the damage was quickly taken care of and in no time Vetra was back on her feet, a few extra scars added to the collection but nothing sincerely damaged. The exhaustion that overcame Ryder was bone-deep, and she barely took the time to shower properly before collapsing in her bed and passing out after giving Kallo the all clear to begin moving towards Aya.

After that, things moved quickly. Before Sara could blink it felt like they were already docking on Aya, and she was staring at the message from Evfra as if it were going to jump out and bite her. Should she go ahead and message him again, let him know that she had docked?

No, there was no point. He already knew. He always knew. He had eyes everywhere on Aya and he knew that she knew that, so there was really no point in sending a message other than the fact that she stupidly, blindly wanted to talk to him in some way, shape, or form. Even if she was literally about to do just that the moment she left the ship.

“SAM, is there some way to give myself a lobotomy without completely losing my mind?” she asked rhetorically as she pushed her freshly-washed hair back into a ponytail to regain some semblance of personal control. Even if the motion brought with it a whiff of her new favorite soap.

“Negative, Pathfinder. I’m sorry that there is nothing I can do to help.”

Sara sighed. “Yeah. I know. Sorry. I’m just not good at” - she motions vaguely - “this.”

She pulled on her leather jacket to ground herself, took a few deep breaths, and forced some semblance of calm to settle over her as she began to force her brain to think logically. This was fine. No one knew about Evfra and Sara except for them, Jaal, and Drack. No one would know anything about what happened, and so there was no external pressure to act any sort of way - she just had to be herself. Evfra was an adult (older than her she was certain - and oh god, was it awful that she didn’t even know how old he was?) and he was mature. He wasn’t going to make a deal about it, and as long as she just channeled her anxiety into her usual bubbly personality then they would be fine.

To her relief, the mental pep talk actually worked. She gave a heavy sigh and rubbed the back of her neck, deflating slightly as her body began to relax. 

This was stupid. She had never been so wound up about someone before, and the fact that she’d very nearly lost her damn mind had shame and embarrassment crawling over her skin. Yes, he was amazing in bed. Yes, she wanted to sleep with him again. Yes, she wanted to get to know him. But none of that meant she had to take a nosedive into crazy town to try and distract herself from her own head, which was the real enemy here. She was acting like an idiot because she didn’t know any better, because she’d gone and turned the whole thing into a bigger deal than it was, and sure, her heart might take a bit of a beating when she went into his office, but she’d had her heart broken (or at least battered, because broken was one hell of an exaggeration) before and she had come out of that alive, and so she would come out of this alive, and so she would fucking _thrive_.

Sara threw back her shoulders and lifted her chin, injecting pride into her every step as she straightened her jacket and began walking with purpose out of her room as she made her way to the exit bay. 

Aya was beautiful and bustling, as always, with angara flitting from place to place and the occasional human or salarian joining the hustle and bustle, bartering and chatting with the local angara freely. A small amount of pride burrowed into her chest with each step. She’d help do this - she’d helped get the initiative a place on Aya’s seclusive city, and she’d helped smooth over the bumps and bruises that came with the gradual integration of the milky way citizens. To see it evidenced right in front of her left her feeling good, and any remnants of her anxiety disappeared nearly entirely as she stepped up the stairs and into the resistance headquarters.

The moment she entered the office Evfra’s head was lifting and his gaze was on her, and in an instant all that talk about having nearly no sex drive flew out the window. With just a look her body tightened, heart hammering in her chest as a rush of heat filled her chest and sank down into her abdomen like a weight. _Oh fuck._

“Pathfinder,” Evfra greeted as she approached. She flashed a smile, calm and casual in a way that her body was not.

“Evfra. A little bird told me that you had some news for us?” she asked, stopping as she came to the front of his desk.

“Yes,” he agreed. He pulled a data pad from a neat pile on his desk and extended it to her. “We’ve been intercepting kett transmissions between Voeld and Havarl. Some of my scouts found information about their shipment movements and plans. We’ve already taken action to protect our people, but they also have aims at some of your settlements. This is what we managed to get.”

Sara accepted the data pad and began skimming through its contents, quickly reading through and making note of the most important details. “It sounds like they’re going to try and sabotage some of our farming settlements,” she observed, tapping a finger against his desk in idle concentration. “Cut off our supplies and they have an easier time taking us out. It’s smart, but nothing that we couldn’t have expected.” She looked up to Evfra, ignoring the silly little flip her stomach did when their eyes met. “Thank you. This keeps us a step ahead of them.”

She smiled, and Evfra’s gaze flicked down to her lips for an instant that she couldn’t ignore. His nostril’s flared as he breathed in, and then his eyes were on her again. “I see you’re enjoying my gift.”

Her neck burned with heat as a blush stained her skin, giving her away all to quickly. “I told you I liked your soap,” she said, confident enough to say it given that they were the only two in the room. “It isn’t the same but-“

And that’s when her confidence came and shot her in the foot. Her face flushed an angry red, heat enough to convince her she was burning alive, and Evfra watched her intently as she awkwardly flipped her bangs back from her face.

“The same?” he asked, and there was a lower pitch to his voice that made her squirm. She knew that pitch. She’d dreamed of it for weeks.

“I - you know what I mean,” she said weakly, averting her gaze and staring at the wall as her heart tried to beat itself out of her chest. The sound of movement caught her attention and when she turned to look at him he was already out from behind his desk, approaching her with that self-assured ease that reminded her of all the other things he had done with that same level of fortitude.

“Perhaps I want to hear you say it,” he said, and her whole body felt weightless for an extended, beautiful moment. She exhaled slowly, inadvertently leaning in towards him like he was magnetized. 

But then logic came crashing in and she forced herself to steady - to breathe in and think through the haze that tried to steal her away all over again. This wasn’t like before, she didn’t have any medical mumbo-jumbo to blame her missteps on, and she was an adult at the end of the day even if sometimes she didn’t want to be one. She could be logical about this, just for once. She had to be, or else she was signing away her sanity to the _S.S. Unrequited_.

“Evfra - I don’t know what we’re doing here,” she breathed, and that honesty terrified her more than anything else. “I know - I mean. I know what I want. But I don’t know what you want. What _we_ want - if there’s even a we at all after all that’s happened. And it scares the shit out of me. Because neither of us can pretend that you don’t have this hold over me that you know full well I can’t resist, and I don’t want to resist it, but…” she exhaled slowly, cast her gaze down to the floor to try and clear her head and find the right words that she so rarely felt she had. “I don’t want this if it isn’t equal. If we aren’t on the same page.”

As she spoke he watched her diligently, his thoughts impossible to read as he listened, and Sara didn’t know if that was worse or better than what it could have been. The moment between them extended, leaving her heart to continue to try and beat itself to death, and just when she thought all hope was lost he stepped forward and caught the back of her neck in his hand.

It was stupid how easily her body melted away under the simple touch, the way her lips parted and a slow wave of heated contentment washed through her like a drug. His thumb pressed under her ear, firm but not oppressive, and she remembered how his palm had fit so perfectly against her throat. It made her head spin.

“I am not good at this,” he said frankly. His voice was low and it washed over her skin, simultaneously making the heat worse and better all at once. “If what you’re wanting is someone doting, or affectionate, then we should stop. That isn’t me, and even if it was once something I was capable of, that part of me died the day the kett took everything.”

“I don’t want that,” she whispered. Her hand lifted and curled around his wrist, keeping him close to her as she luxuriated in his presence - in the missing part of that scent that she had adored so dearly that his soap could never emulate fully. “I don’t think I would even know what to do with that. That isn’t - I’m not good at this either, Evfra. Affection makes me awkward and I don’t know how to be soft like that, all I know is shitty jokes and deflection. But even though I know this was all just some giant cosmic joke, I want you. I can’t stop thinking about it and maybe it’s all physical, maybe it isn’t, but if you’re willing to try even just a little…I’m willing to try, too.”

“I can’t promise this will work,” he said, sweeping his thumb down along her throat and making her shiver. It took every modicum of control she had to keep her head from spinning away into fantasy land. He deserved more than that.

“And maybe we’ll both be pleasantly surprised at how well this works, or maybe our lives will just get too complicated, but we’re just two people, Evfra. And I know that the resistance is your life, and I know that it would always come before me, but I would never ask it not to be. I would never ask for you to be anything more than you are - but that means you can never ask me to be anything more than I am.” She pulled his hand up so that she could press her cheek to his palm, gently running her lips against the leather of his glove. “I’m a mess, Evfra. And if you’re okay with trying then I - well. I’m okay with trying, too.”

Evfra lowered his hand to her collar, thumb tracing once along the jut of her collarbone, and then let his hand drop away entirely. He did not back up, and that alone was what kept her heart from breaking in her chest. She couldn’t remember the last time she had made herself so vulnerable, emotionally speaking. Physical vulnerability was different, and yet here she was, offering him both in the span of a month. Had she hit her head?

“Do you remember the path to my house?” he asked. She nodded. Even out of her mind as she had been, she’d always been particularly good with directions. She could probably make her way back with her eyes closed. “I have work to do. If you have the time for me, I will be home in three hours. If you change your mind by then, I understand.”

“You’re really underestimating how stubborn I am,” she said wryly. To her pleasant surprise he smiled, the barest shift of expression, and it was enough to warm her through. “I also owe you.”

The smile fell away as he raised a brow. “Owe me? For what?”

“Well,” she smiled slyly, feeling brave enough to step forward into his space, looking up at him through her lashes in what she hoped was at least somewhat sexy and not entirely ridiculous. She hadn’t had to seduce many people before. Hadn’t wanted to, more aptly. “Last time I was here, you took very good care of me. Several times over. In a row. In the matter of fairness, I was thinking that I could return the favor.”

There was no mistaking the desire that burned in his eyes as she bit her lip, the way his hand shifted as if to reach out and grab her again. She bit her lip and dared to lean in and press a fleeting kiss on his chin, almost playful, before pulling back and putting much needed distance between them. She could feel his eyes burning into her as she left the headquarters, a smile a mile wide stealing across her features and broadcasting her emotions like a radio tower.

Of course, as luck would have it, it was then that she bumped into Jaal. His hands lifted, steadying her instinctively to keep her from toppling over, and as he processed who it was he had nearly run over he smiled wide and announced: “Ryder! You’re looking well today.”

“Thanks,” she squeaked. She knew what was coming before it even began - watched the slow realization cross his features as he took in their path, where it had intersected, the blush on her cheeks and the smile she couldn’t fully dispel, and as he pieced it all together he smiled slow and wide, until he gave a joyous little laugh that was like a drum in her ears. 

“Ryder!! I take it you have good news?” he asked, so earnestly happy for her that it was difficult to be mad at him. “I have not seen you so happy in weeks!”

“Jaal, you’re embarrassing me,” she said as she pulled back to burry her face in her hands.

Jaal was immediately contrite. He released her. “I am sorry, Ryder - but I have just gotten so used to seeing how sad you were, it is a relief to see you happy. I am glad that whatever was upsetting you has been resolved. You are a dear friend to me - to everyone on the Tempest - and to see you hurting without being able to help is,” he shook his head. “It is not a pleasant experience.”

Her heart warmed in her chest. What had she done to deserve a friend like Jaal? “Thank you, Jaal. I appreciate it.”

“Should we be expecting you back on the ship tonight?” he asked, a knowing and playful gleam in his eyes. Ryder blushed to her roots.

“I - ah - I think that there is a chance that I will not be on the ship tonight,” she answered evasively. Jaal did not press for specifics. Honestly, Ryder didn’t think he had to. He already knew. Motherfucker.

“Of course. I will let the crew know. You should go enjoy yourself, Sara.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “You have been dealing with a lot of stress lately. Take a break while you can.”

They parted ways and Sara felt lighter than air, content and happy in a way that she hadn’t expected feeling after today’s trip. She had prepared herself for the worst and what she got was - well. It was pretty damn great. She didn’t know if she would say best, because she had no idea whether or not this whole thing was a good or a bad idea, but it was…it was more than she ever could have hoped for.

After an hour passed and she finished the mishmash of chores she’d come to complete (dropping off some artifacts at the museum, stopping by the human embassy to make sure everything was running smoothly) she finally found herself retracing a familiar path to the residential area, and when she reached the clear division between public and private areas, the angara on guard made no move to stop her. Which meant that Evfra must have told them to expect her. That did things to her insides that she didn’t want to overthink.

When she reached his door she checked her messages and found one from Evfra waiting, offering the passcode to his home and the added note, ‘so you don’t have to break through my security.’ The door slid open and as she stepped inside she was struck with an intense feeling of familiarity - of contentment. Her shoulders unwound that final amount, and she made her way back to the room that she had claimed as hers last she stayed. Nothing had changed, but the sheets looked fresh, and the whole area looked generally untouched. She slowly unzipped her jacket to hang it on the back of a chair, relaxing as she stripped away the armor she had donned so protectively that morning, and when she sat on the edge of the bed she couldn’t help but just feel _right._ Like this was where she was supposed to be.

Half of Sara had anticipated feeling awkward, returning to this room, but any tension she’d waited for never came. She fell back onto the bed, legs hanging off the edge as she kicked off her shoes and began wiggling out of her pants, and within the next few minutes she was curled up under the sheets and pressing her face into the pillow, breathing in deep before her body unwound and before she could even question what she was doing, she was gone.

Sleep was blessedly dreamless, a pleasant darkness that stole time away from her until she heard the opening of a door and felt familiar fingers dragging slowly through her hair. In a haze she rolled over, body colliding with Evfra’s side, and she was unsurprised to see him watching her from his perch on the edge of the bed.

“So my plan did not originally include a nap,” she said, voice thick with sleep that still tried to steal her away into the comfort of the bed. “But you know I’ve never really been good at plans.”

“I have no idea how you function,” Evfra said. Sara could only grin up at him. Finally she sat up, blankets falling to her waist and revealing the thin material of her tee shirt, and she nestled against his side without hesitation. There were still nerves - hesitation that maybe she was too affectionate, too physical, too anything - but she squashed them down and instead relied on what her senses were telling her now. Her arm curled around him, forearm crossing his chest as her hand curled against his throat, and she pressed small kisses to his pulse as her body began to warm through from proximity alone.

“I missed you,” she admitted, pressing her nose to his throat and sighing against his skin. “And not just the sex. I just missed being close to you.”

He didn’t respond, didn’t offer any reciprocation, but Sara didn’t need it. The slow slide of his hand along the dip of her spine was enough. She kissed his neck again, and then his chin, and then the corner of his mouth as she gave a pleased sigh and curled in towards him. Eventually her hand drifted down his chest, fingers inspecting the material of his clothes before falling to pluck questioningly at the seam of his pants.

“I still owe you,” she murmured, hooking her fingers under the hem of his shirt to ghost across his skin. “If you’re interested.”

“I’m interested,” he said. “But not as a matter of repayment.”

A fleeting kiss brushed along the corner of his mouth as her palm pressed flat to his abdomen, thumb gently tracing along the thick skin waiting there. “Then I want to, because I want you. Will you let me?”

There was no verbal response, but Sara was quickly learning that she and Evfra worked best when there were no words involved at all. Evfra removed his shirt and Sara pulled away for the sake of ease, gaze sweeping across his form as a slow hum of satisfied heat began to buzz in the back of her mind, a gentle reminder that _hey - you want this man_.

The pants didn’t last much longer than the shirt, and Sara took in every subtle shift of his musculature as he stood to shuck them off and set them aside. She noticed that for the first time in their interludes his cock wasn’t out yet, but the slit that she had tried to explore previously was glistening temptingly, and as she draped herself across his lap she noticed the way the skin tensed and relaxed, a barely there shift, and something in her responded in kind.

“Tell me what you like,” she breathed as she reached out to gently glide her thumb along the length of the seam, noting the texture like thin, velvety rubber. More durable than what she had between her thighs, but softer in comparison to the rest of his skin. She felt more than heard Evfra’s reaction, the shudder that travelled down his back and the press of his hand like an anchor against her shoulder.

“Touching,” he advised, and she responded by repeating the motion, sweeping down and up once more and marveling at the thick lubrication that began to gather on her thumb. “Kissing. It’s…delicate.”

Despite herself her mind flew back to that damn conversation with Drack, and as she continued petting the tender expanse of skin, her breaths coming deeper as arousal settled like a drug sluicing through her veins, she couldn’t help but smile.

“Something amusing, Ryder?” Evfra asked.

Sara shook her head, not wanting to break the balance between them, and leaned in close to kiss a path up along the deep blue opening. “Later,” she murmured, tongue sneaking out to flick curiously over him, and it was that brief touch that finally pulled a sound from him - low and deep, a subtle rumble that had her sighing. From there it was easy enough to find her way around; this wasn’t so different from going down on a human woman or an asari, though there was a little bit less penetration involved here.

_‘hey Evfra, do you want me to fingerblast your dick sheath?’_

A small snort of laughter betrayed her, and Evfra’s gaze cut down to shoot her an exasperated look. “Are you going to be able to contain yourself until later?” he asked, voice dry despite the fact that she could taste his arousal on her tongue.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, one hand coming to grab his waist as she nuzzled close and pressed the tip of her tongue ever so carefully into his sheath to drag it upwards. The way he groaned and his thighs tensed under her told her that he wasn’t irritated enough to stop her. She imagined her tongue had something to do with that, too. She gave another lick, a small little sound bubbling up in the back of her throat as she pressed her thighs together. “Drack had a few questions about - uh - angara anatomy.” Her hand came up and she carefully traced along the places she couldn’t reach without interrupting the rhythm she had set with her mouth. “And in hindsight…it was kind of funny.”

“Riveting,” Evfra said, tone dry enough to tell her he did not share in her amusement.

“You probably had to be there,” she admitted, before devoting herself to the best apology she could offer him with her fingers and tongue. His hand lifted from the bedsheets to tangle in her hair, gathering it up and keeping it from her face as he watched her, gaze dark and heady. 

Soon she felt a shift underneath her tongue, the glistening and spit-slicked folds parting as his arousal mounted and his cock began to emerge, the head pushing against her tongue demandingly and forcing her mouth to open and press hot kisses against his skin.

“It’s a relief to know that you’re better with your mouth than you are your words,” Evfra murmured, and she realized with a pleased hum that he was teasing her. She smiled, cheeks flushed as her own arousal began to climb - but unlike before this felt normal. This was something she could control.

“You’re so mean,” she chastised as she slid her mouth down along his emerging length, sucking and kissing where she knew that her mouth could never hope to reach. A part of her was almost sad for it - the mental image of Evfra fucking her mouth to his whim was enchanting, and the knowledge that it would probably never happen left her bereft. 

The fingers in her hair tightened and pulled, and she remembered all the other things that more than made up for this oversight. She continued her attentions until his breathing had deepened to low, heavy gasps and she could see the strain of his knot pressing up against its protective folds, and she couldn’t stop herself from nuzzling close and trailing her tongue along the flushed expanse of skin. His hips bucked up with a muffled curse, his hand pushing her mouth closer as she mewled and obliged, lavishing his slit and his burgeoning knot with every affection she could muster until Evfra’s grip turned painful, her scalp tingling as he forcibly pulled her back from his lap. Ryder was almost willing to wager that she was just as affected as he with the way her loins burned as desire squirmed in her belly, the taste of him cloyingly thick and coating her lips and tongue.

“Enough,” he huffed, loosening his grip to slide it down to the front of her throat, clasping securely in place, and a very small still-bashful part of Sara was mortified by how right it felt there. Her head tipped back as their gazes clashed, and she reached to drag a thumb across his lower lip.

“Do you want to fuck me?” she asked, voice a soft rasp of desire.

“Yes,” he answered. His hand squeezed and her eyes rolled back as a high whine escaped her. He just chuckled. “Still so responsive. I had thought that it was just your heat - but I’m glad that I was wrong.”

“Do you want to do something different?” she asked as she sat up more, letting his hand travel with her as her arms wound around his cowl and she began peppering kisses along his jaw and neck, stopping to gently flick her tongue along the ridges that defined the edge of his ears. One hand dropped to his spare one and dragged it up her body, underneath her teeshirt to curl possessively over her breast.

“I’m willing to be adventurous,” he responded, taking her lead to knead the fevered flesh of her breast, palm dragging deliciously over the hardened peak of her nipple. “Though I think we may be running out of things to experiment with, given how much practice we’ve had.”

“Well, our exploration is missing one crucial part,” Ryder smiled and dipped to kiss him, brief and teasing, before pulling back and discarding her shirt and her underwear in two impatient jerks. When she was bare she winked at him, ignoring the exasperated look it earned her, before turning over onto her hands and knees, which quickly turned to her elbows and knees as she tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned her head to watch him.

Angara must not be so different from human men, because his eyes were glued to the treasure trove between her thighs as if he had never seen it before. His hand immediately pulled up to cup her mons, fingers sliding through the copious amount of slick that had gathered in her wait and flicking carefully against her clit where it eagerly peaked out, vying for his attention. A full body shiver rocked though her as she rolled her hips back into his hand.

“You can do whatever you want to me,” she promised, hips swaying as he massaged her with blessed familiarity, finger teasing at her entrance before gliding past to rub tight little circles against her clit. The moan that left her was shaky and light, almost surprised, and as he rubbed harder it turned into something deeper as her thighs tensed and relaxed rhythmically. 

“Your generosity continues to astound,” he murmured, half paying attention to her words as his attention focused more on what really mattered. His other hand came up from its idle resting place to grip the firm globe of her ass, kneading her there as he watched her body shiver and flush with the mounting sensation. His grip tightened, testing her resolve, and when all she did was sigh he pulled his hand back and let it connect with a hard smack, the sound resonating in the room around them.

Ryder yelped and her body lurched forward, ass stinging from the hit, but his hand was there in the next moment to massage the reddened skin and sooth the pain. “Evfra,” she panted, pressing her face into the pillow with another little moan.

There was no verbal response - just the sudden absence of his hand, and then another sharp sting. Another yelp followed, the sound devolving to a grunt as his finger stopped its teasing to press into her heat. Time had passed, allowing her body to recuperate, but suddenly it was as if he had never stopped touching her at all. Her body bloomed apart for his finger, eagerly sucking him to fill that needy void inside of her. She mewled and rocked back against the intrusion, body clamping down around him in welcome.

“You’re still so responsive,” Evfra observed, and if she didn’t know better she would say that he was bored - but she knew better by now, and she could pinpoint the subtle shift in his voice, the rumbling undercurrent of desire that made liquid heat surge through her body to ease his path.

“It’s not my fault you’re really fucking good at this,” she gasped, shivering as his finger began methodically thrusting into her, fucking her open with a familiar and perfect rhythm that turned her body to goo.

“I’ve had some time to figure out what you like,” he reminded her, and the reminder was enough to send a thrill down her spine. His thumb brushed across her clit once, too brief and all the better for it when it returned to tease around the distended bundle, sly brushes making her sigh and gasp as her eyes closed and she curled her fingers into the pillow.

This was different from before - slower, not exactly _better,_ but different. Sara was hyper-aware of what he was doing to her in a way she couldn’t have managed before, and her heart gave that damn flop that she didn’t hate nearly so much as she had just weeks ago. As he ducked and pressed his lips to the stinging skin of her ass she cooed and pressed back against the gesture, lips parted in a breathy moan as his thumb finally zeroed in on her clit and began teasing it with renewed purpose.

When his finger withdrew she gave a mournful groan, but wasn’t left bereft for long as he gripped her hips and slotted his mouth against her dripping center, tongue delving into her cunt and curling up inside of her. For a moment language failed her and she was devolved to a cooing, whimpering mess of small gasps and whines with each clever swipe of his tongue, which Sara was convinced was a gift from some god somewhere. As the pressure mounted her body began to tense and shake, she began losing control of her limbs as her legs jerked awkwardly and her hands fluttered uselessly to try and find something to keep them in place, and as his lips suctioned around her clit she lost the ongoing battle and shook almost violently as pleasure surged through her and she came against his mouth.

Dazed as she was, she only half realized his mouth was missing until she felt the blunt head of his cock nuzzling up to her entrance, not quite pushing into her as Evfra tested the resistance of her body. A less lust-drunk Sara may have been embarrassed by the wavering groan that left her, by the way her body so easily accommodated the slow insertion, but she could feel Evfra’s large hand gently sweeping down along the slope of her spine and across her shoulders and all anxiety left her. His hand slid back up to cup her hip, firm but gentle as he slowly pulled her body back onto his length.

“ _Skutt_ ,” Evfra cursed behind her as her heat enveloped him slowly but surely, eagerly convulsing around him to take him in deeper and deeper, and Sara could only respond with another tremulous gasp.

And just when Sara was prepared to take him all, he withdrew, letting his cock slip out of her. The noise she gave was nothing short of tortured as her his rocked back immediately, betrayal curling in her throat as she gasped, “ _No.”_

“Be patient,” Evfra scolded, the words carrying no heat as he gave her hip a firm squeeze. “You’ve had it your way. Now I want it mine.”

“That’s cruel,” she panted as her hips rocked again, his hand tightening to stop the motion before it even began. “Please, Evfra - please. I need you.”

“You have me,” he said. She felt the tip of his dick press against her again, dip teasingly inside before pulling back cruelly. “When I say you can.”

Sara couldn’t help herself - she sobbed, burying her face into her pillow to muffle the needy sounds that fought to voice themselves. “That’s mean,” she protested.

“I’m mean.”

She was almost mad at how unaffected he sounded by all of this - but she could feel his hand on her, tight and possessive, and could hear the heavy weight of desire in his voice. So while she voiced her protests she let him control her, let him drag her body back in place against hers to slide his cock through her slit, insistently avoiding the one place that she needed him the most.

In the past Sara might have decked a man who pulled a stunt like this with her, but Evfra had changed all of the rules on her. She anticipated each dip of his dick with bated breath, which quickly left her whenever he deigned to oblige her that perfect but not-quite satisfying stretch, and as her mind left her she couldn’t even begin to realize that without thinking she had taken to fucking herself back on the tip of his cock while he stubbornly kept himself from filling her to the hilt. Drool had gathered on her chin, staining the pillow and making it hard to catch her breath without choking, and she didn’t even care that she no doubt looked like a fucking mess, because he was the only one who could do this to her.

His hand slid up again, curled around her throat and easily pulled her body back against his, one hand at her abdomen to keep too much pressure off her throat, and the sudden difficulty that came with each ragged breath had her body clenching desperately.

“Please,” she begged, head falling against his shoulder and baring her throat to him in submission. “Evfra, please - please! I want you - I need you, you feel so good, I just - I just want to feel you, _please.”_

A choked sob left her and she could feel tears staining her cheeks. Evfra nuzzled against her throat, breathing her in as he mouthed along her jawline, and before she could think to beg again she felt it - the telltale stretch as he rocked forward to let his length slowly, torturously slide into her.

The heft of his cock spreading her apart stole any conscious thought from her as she whined, too-loud in the otherwise quiet room, and her hands flew up to clutch at his forearm where it rested between her breasts. She clung to him as he slowly fucked into her, the ridges of his cock catching against her velvety cunt with each rock of his hips, and Sara was lost to the moment.

Everything was different - slower, more heady in a way she couldn’t have possibly accounted for - and with each move of their bodies she could feel emotions clogging her throat and staining her eyes and she was too overwhelmed with everything this angara could do to her to even begin making sense of it. She panted, gasping little mindless praise and affections as his hand slid down her body in a steady and soothing rhythm that kept her grounded while her body and her mind tried to soar away somewhere else entirely. His palm caught her breast, squeezing as he bit down on her throat, and all it took was one hard thrust to send her body into blissful convulsions as her body clamped around his and her mind whited out.

The rest was a blur of sensation, and when her mind returned she was on her back, panting as she tried to calm herself, with Evfra laying beside her and a possessive arm under her head and another gently stroking her stubbornly soft stomach. They laid there in silence for a moment before Sara regained any semblance of herself, and all she could manage was a succinct: “Shit.”

“Are you alright?” Evfra asked, gaze stern and warm as he examined her.

“Yeah,” she breathed. She turned, plastering herself against him and sliding her arm around his shoulders to nuzzle up to his throat (which she was beginning to realize might be a fixation of hers). “I think I blacked out a bit there at the end.”

“Should I take that as praise?” he asked, an edge of humor to his voice. Sara smiled against his skin and closed her eyes, going limp against him as she exhaled contentedly.

“Yeah,” she murmured. “I think you should.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so they lived happily ever after. At the end of the game Sara spends some time on Aya with her hot new boyfriend making an embarrassment of herself and testing the limits of Evfra's patience every day, but he's okay with that because it's Sara, after all. Alls well that ends well! <3
> 
> If you feel inclined please leave a comment with your thoughts and feelings. Again - thanks so much. Know that everyone who commented gave me the push to finish this for you, and so this is my final thanks to everyone who took the time.
> 
> See you later, you freaks.


End file.
